# Was Kamala Harris a below average Democratic Presidential Candidate?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [February 18, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801 "2026-02-18T19:03:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/101 "2026-02-19T21:04:55Z")
In 2019, my street activist friends were angrily declaring that they’d never support Kamala Harris, because she is “a cop.”
My answer: Baloney! A prosecutor isn’t a cop. Anybody can see that. You may as well say an apple is an orange because they’re both fruit.\*
If they say well, it’s true in some sense, I say that’s no counter to the fact that it’s factually wrong. My street activist friends were deeply bitter and vehement against her because they equated prosecutor and cop. If they say it’s a distinction without a difference so they amount to the same thing, I say that’s wrong too, because there are many real differences and no overlap in action.
\*In some northern European languages, oranges are called “Chinese apple,” but that’s neither here nor there.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/102 "2026-02-19T21:26:01Z")
To my eyes, a prosecutor and cop are both on the side of “the law” - with all of its good and bad connotations. Different roles but same team, no?
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### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/103 "2026-02-19T21:27:33Z")
Apples and oranges are on the same team. Doesn’t make them the same thing. This is beginner-level Logic 101. When rhetoric violates logic, toss it out.
That rhetoric is the inverse of “distinction without a difference.” Instead, it’s failure to distinguish a real difference.
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### Author:  [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/104 "2026-02-19T21:35:08Z")
> [@Johanna](#):
>
> my street activist friends were angrily declaring that they’d never support Kamala Harris, because she is “a cop.”
>
> My answer: Baloney! A prosecutor isn’t a cop. Anybody can see that
“They both put people in jail!” is the mentality behind that and _to them_ that’s enough . However much it may be grapefruit and nectarines.
And BTW, a thing that should _help_ her with mainstream center voters … but ticks off the “activist” side.
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### Author:  [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/105 "2026-02-19T21:36:03Z")
> [@Calder](#):
>
> Let’s compare Harris to a previous “average” Democratic presidential candidate instead and use that as a metric to determine if she was above average or not.
Though there is a key point here. Regardless of her “qualifications” is there any aspect of her campaign for president, either policy or campaign details, that’s she could have improved that would have increased her chances of success significantly?
What would your.clone of Clinton/JFK/Obama/Gore done or said differently that would have turned round the campaign in 100 days? I cannot think of anything.
I can see a whiter and more male candidate might have had a slightly better chance (running as she was against a fascist who overtly whipped up racist and sexist sentiments in his base). But there is no decision she could have made that would have improved her chances IMO
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### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/106 "2026-02-19T21:39:00Z")
When I read her book, she emphasized that she was able to shut down child abusers and she was rightfully proud of that. We’re looking at two completely separate reality tunnels. _sigh_
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### Author:  [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/107 "2026-02-19T21:40:03Z")
> [@Johanna](#):
>
> We’re looking at two completely separate reality tunnels.
Were it just two…
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/108 "2026-02-19T21:44:56Z")
> [@griffin1977](#):
>
> That is absolutely how her campaign was viewed at the time, rightly or wrongly. T
No, it wasnt. It was barely a news item. Announcing your candidacy then dropping out before the primaries is quite common.
> [@Thing.Fish](#):
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> Almost all Presidential candidates drop out before the first votes are cast, and all campaigns have “reports of internal division”. Those are not remotely reasons to disqualify anyone. Booker also dropped out before any votes were cast
Right.
> [@Thing.Fish](#):
>
> Anonymous sources talking to Politico is not something I’d take terribly seriously.
Almost useless.
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#):
>
> Did she win? Obviously not. That has to be a mark against.
>
> Was the the best Dem candidate who could be mobilized on such short notice? Absolutely, without a question. The highest-profile alternatives discussed at the time have turned out to be slimy, fence-sitting centrists.
>
> Is she qualified on general principle? Yes, she’s held elected office at many different levels.
>
> Is she as good as Obama or Bill Clinton? No, but few are. She’s better than John Kerry or Hillary Clinton, in my book.
>
> Why did she lose? There was a tide of anti-incumbent sentiment focused mainly on post-COVID inflation, that took down incumbents all over the world, not just in the US.
Good points.
> [@Calder](#):
>
> Sigh. For some strange reason, you seem to have decided that we are on opposing sides, which is weird, as I don’t think we have interacted much at all outside of this thread.
>
> Please reread the last paragraph of my OP. I haven’t even decided yet if she was a below-average candidate. I
Who started a thread with five reasons why Harris wasnt a good candidate? Several of which have been totally debunked in this thread.
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> Has this thread turned into a huge “No True Scotsman” exercise? Seems a lot like that to me.
Hmmm.
> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> Thing is, Trump got elected because he’s a liar and a horrible person in multiple ways. Not in spite of, _because_ of.
Yep. The MAGAs took a page from Goebbels book and did Three “Big Lies”.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/109 "2026-02-19T21:45:12Z")
The clone of Bill Clinton, I think, would have hammered household financial issues as hard as he could, understanding that while there’s actually little POTUS can do to fix inflation, talking is most of the battle. Clinton himself once said “No matter what, you have to campaign as if you are 10 points behind in the polls.” He would have talked a huge game about inflation, convinced voters he was going to bring prices down big time, even if he wasn’t.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/110 "2026-02-19T21:47:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Who started a thread with five reasons why Harris wasnt a good candidate? Several of which have been totally debunked in this thread.
To be clear, the OP did _not_ say, “here are five reasons why I think Harris was not a good candidate.” They literally said:
> [@Calder](#):
>
> Here are some of the main points I have seen used against her.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/111 "2026-02-19T21:48:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> To be clear, the OP did _not_ say, “here are five reasons why I think Harris was not a good candidate.” They literally said:
Then- why bring it up?
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/112 "2026-02-19T21:50:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Then- why bring it up?
It’s the entire bloody point of this thread. The OP had heard several different criticisms of Harris and her candidacy, and **asked for our opinions** on whether those were fair criticisms or not.
Some people here keep attacking the OP under the assumption that the OP was stating those bullet points as **their beliefs about Harris.**
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### Author:  [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/113 "2026-02-19T21:50:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> No, it wasnt. It was barely a news item. Announcing your candidacy then dropping out before the primaries is quite common.
It wasn’t a particularly big news item. But it absolutely was the “received wisdom” at the time that she had not done particularly well as a primary candidate. Whether that’s true or not is irrelevant but that is what was being said about her campaign in the first half of 2020. And that’s why Biden chose her IMO.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/114 "2026-02-19T21:53:21Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> It’s the entire bloody point of this thread. The OP had heard several different criticisms of Harris and her candidacy, and **asked for our opinions** on whether those were fair criticisms or not.
Except they kept arguing several of the points after they were debunked. Seems like they were invested in some of the items in the OP.
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### Author:  [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/115 "2026-02-19T21:56:06Z")
> [@Velocity](#):
>
> would have hammered household financial issues as hard as he could
And Harris didn’t? She absolutely hammered those issues. The problem is that unlike in Trump’s fantasies bring inflation under control doesn’t instantly bring _down_ prices for Americans.
IMO there are bunch of myths about her campaign. Like people seem to think she ran on calling Trump a fascist and trans rights and that’s it. She actually ran very canny mix of positive issues (the Biden economy record, plans for legislation that would actually improve Americans life) and pointing out the elephant in the room of Trump’s fascism and how he spelled doom for America.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/116 "2026-02-19T21:56:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Except they kept arguing several of the points after they were debunked.
“Opinions and observations provided” does not necessarily mean “debunked.” Or, sometimes, one just likes to argue.
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### Author:  [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/117 "2026-02-19T21:59:13Z")
> [@griffin1977](#):
>
> Though there is a key point here. Regardless of her “qualifications” is there any aspect of her campaign for president, either policy or campaign details, that’s she could have improved that would have increased her chances of success significantly?
I don’t know how fair this would be as you can look back at almost anything and find things to improve. But right off the bat and I can think of two things.
1. During her interview on “The View” she was asked if she would have done anything different from Joe Biden and she essentially said she would do everything the same. I remember more than one news article at the time saying how bad a response this was ast the time as she could have easily said get tougher on the border sooner without appearing to be disloyal to Biden. Several even called it a “Sister Souljah” kind of moment that she desperately needed.
2. During the first Debate with Harris Trump was asked if he had a Health care plan for the American people and Trump’s Response was that he had the “concepts of plan”. I literally screamed at the TV “Concepts of a Plan…. 8 years ago you said you had the greatest health plan in history and now it has devolved into just a concept of a plan. Tell the truth Mr. President you never had a plan at all.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/118 "2026-02-19T22:09:12Z")
> [@Calder](#):
>
> During her interview on “The View” she was asked if she would have done anything different from Joe Biden and she essentially said she would do everything the same. I remember more than one news article at the time saying how bad a response this was ast the time as she could have easily said get tougher on the border
“The Border” is a made up MAGA problem. It would be like making “uncovering the UFO at Area 51” a campaign issue. But she could have done better at debunking over the top bigoted fears about the Border. Biden was a very good president.
> [@Calder](#):
>
> During the first Debate with Harris Trump was asked if he had a Health care plan for the American people and Trump’s Response was that he had the “concepts of plan”. I literally screamed at the TV “Concepts of a Plan…. 8 years ago you said you had the greatest health plan in history and now it has devolved into just a concept of a plan. Tell the truth Mr. President you never had a plan at all.
How is that a Harris issue?
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### Author:  [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/119 "2026-02-19T22:19:26Z")
> [@Calder](#):
>
> But right off the bat and I can think of two things.
I am seriously doubtful either of those would have resulted in more than a rounding error difference in votes.
> [@Calder](#):
>
> she could have easily said get tougher on the border sooner
How the hell would that have helped? She was running as basically incumbent, or attempting to do so. The Biden economy was doing pretty damn well. Why would she do anything to distance herself from him? How many anti-immigration voters are going say “well I was going to vote for Trump as I hate immigrants but Harris said she’d have been a little bit stricter than Biden, so I’m switching!”
> [@Calder](#):
>
> literally screamed at the TV
Are you saying Harris should have screamed that? Again, how many Trump voters would that have won?
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/120 "2026-02-19T22:21:52Z")
> [@griffin1977](#):
>
> How the hell would that have helped? She was running as basically incumbent, or attempting to do so. The Biden economy was doing pretty damn well. Why would she do anything to distance herself from him? How many anti-immigration voters are going say “well I was going to vote for Trump as I hate immigrants but Harris said she’d have been a little bit stricter than Biden, so I’m switching!”
Yeah, good post. Mind you-
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> . But she could have done better at debunking over the top bigoted fears about the Border.
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