Patricia Lopez: For once, it's Democrats who fall in line

Democrats are coming together with a swift, unified show of force that seemed unfathomable just days ago. It has made a mockery of a still-new Republican talking point — that President Joe Biden’s departure would leave Democrats divided and in disarray.

To Republicans’ dismay, Democrats are instead falling into line like, well, the GOP used to back in the day.

Since Vice President Kamala Harris was endorsed by Biden as his successor on Sunday afternoon, her campaign says it has raised $100 million, while digital Democratic fundraiser Act Blue took in more than $90 million. By Monday, every state party chair had endorsed Harris. The governors of Illinois, Michigan Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kansas also announced their support within minutes of one another, reconstructing a “blue wall” that had been looking increasingly shaky.

By Monday evening, Harris had secured enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee.

Republicans, who built their entire campaign around running against an incumbent even older than their 78-year-old nominee, were caught flat-footed, stunned by the discipline Democrats deployed in working to bring Biden to the realization that he should step down. The drama turned out to be intense, but short-lived. Just a little over three weeks from his disastrous debate, Biden ended his bid for a second term.

Republicans were counting on a summer of infighting among top Democratic prospects. Instead, it is they who suddenly have the oldest candidate ever to run for president, and one who may have his own cognitive issues.

For all the GOP whining about the lack of “process” regarding Biden’s replacement, the fact remains that Democrats managed to do what Republicans could not: ease their candidate out, and in doing so, hit a reset button that allows them to potentially reframe the election on more advantageous terms.

Norman Ornstein, a political scientist with the American Enterprise Institute and longtime elections watcher, told me that he gives a large measure of credit for the startling display of unity to two of Harris’ most likely challengers, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Their quick endorsements of Harris ended talk of a “mini-primary.” Others quickly fell in behind them.

Former President Donald Trump now can expect to get savaged by an opponent already redefining this race. As a seasoned prosecutor who brought frauds, cheats and sexual abusers to justice, Harris said in a recent appearance to a roaring crowd, “Hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.”

But Trump has spent the better part of a decade tearing apart the Republican Party and reconstructing it in his own image. He can be counted on to fight as though his life and freedom depended on it, as it might, given his legal issues. Republicans have only begun to tear into Harris, and will undoubtedly be spurred on by a new Reuters Ipsos poll released Tuesday showing Harris edging past Trump with a 2-percentage-point lead (a difference within the survey’s 3% margin of error). Other polls continue to show a race in flux.

Trump has a fanatically loyal base — as evidenced by the number of ear bandages some GOP convention delegates wore in solidarity with the recent attempt on his life. But it’s also no secret that some in his party would prefer a different nominee. From old-school Reaganites to the primary voters who cast ballots for Nikki Haley long after she had left the race, the desire for an alternative to the MAGA megalomaniac has been palpable. Dozens of top officials Trump hand-selected for key posts in his administration stridently oppose his return, including his former vice president, Mike Pence, national security adviser John Bolton, two secretaries of defense and former Chief of Staff John Kelly, who once said Trump “has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution and the rule of law.” Among world leaders, only the dictators seem to want Trump back.

For Democrats, the task that lies ahead for the next 100 or so days is to sustain the outburst of unity in a party whose many elements are often at odds with one another. Like Biden, Harris in the past has struggled with low approval ratings. Her opportunity now lies in her ability to reframe the campaign around her strengths, which are significant. Chief among them is her proven ability to speak unashamedly about abortion and reproductive freedom in a way that Biden never could.

Democratic voters’ chief complaint about Biden mostly centered on his age and perceived infirmity. The Biden-Harris record of joint accomplishment is one that Democrats value, and she can make the case for what more must be done.

Harris and the party will have to deal with a lot of nonsense along the way. One Republican House member has already filed — pardon the expression — trumped up articles of impeachment against her. Then there is the Republican talking point that Democrats have “rigged” a coronation, cheating voters of their original choice.

No campaign sprints through its last 100 days trouble-free. This race, widely expected to be close, bitter and hard fought to the end, will be no exception.

Democrats have bought themselves a fresh start. They must not squander it.

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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Patricia Lopez is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. She is a former member of the editorial board at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she also worked as a senior political editor and reporter.

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