Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) predicted that VP Harris would be the next Democratic presidential nominee, suggesting that with President Biden’s withdrawal over the weekend, some party members are feeling pressured to nominate Harris because of her race.
“Many Democrats feel they have to support her because of her ethnic background,” Grossman said of Harris’ possible nomination. Interview with Milwaukee’s CBS-58 on sunday.
With Biden ending his reelection campaign on Sunday, many Democrats, including the president himself, have endorsed Harris, quickly making her the front-runner for the nomination.
Not only is Harris the sitting vice president, but as the incumbent candidate, she can easily inherit $91 million in campaign funding from the president, a major advantage over other candidates.
Harris is currently unchallenged in the race for the Democratic nomination, and if elected in November, she would become the first woman, the first Black woman and the first South Asian-American president.
Grossman said any Democrat, including Harris, would pose a tougher challenge for former President Trump to defeat than a sitting presidential candidate.
“It’s going to be much harder to beat anyone other than Joe Biden,” he said. “It’s going to be an uphill battle.”
But he also pointed out that Harris is not without weaknesses.
“I know there are Democrats who don’t like her,” he said. “She has a clear weakness: the border. And so far she hasn’t been a very articulate candidate.”
The Trump campaign began attacking Harris even before Biden dropped out of the race, criticizing the Biden administration’s border policies. Harris was tasked with dealing with the southern border early in the administration’s term, but her role was later designated to address the root causes of migration.
National polls show the presidential race between Trump and Harris is tight, with Trump leading Harris by 2 percentage points, according to The Hill/Decision Desk average, slightly better than Biden’s performance against the former president.
