# Was Kamala Harris a below average Democratic Presidential Candidate? **URL:** \ **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:** 8
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/141 "2026-02-20T03:02:14Z")
> [@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 sooner without appearing to be disloyal to Biden. Several even called it a “Sister Souljah” kind of moment that she desperately needed. I have never found this to be a fair criticism of Harris because of the nature of the question being asked. She was not being asked to present a policy that would differ from Biden’s approach so that American voters could appreciate the nuance. She was being asked to talk some shit. That is all. They wanted a sound bite where she says that he sucks and his mother dresses him funny. There was no perfect answer to that question, no matter what she might have said in response. On Donald Trump’s watch, half a million Americans died of COVID. That’s basically the entire population of Kansas City MO (or equivalent sized city of your choice) wiped off the map while he talked about injecting bleach and sunshine. Yet no one ever asked him what he would do differently. But they definitely asked him to talk shit, it’s the only thing he’s good at. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/142 "2026-02-20T03:06:32Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > It was her campaign still thought debates were important Ok then what should she have done instead? What concrete actions should Harris have done in the last weeks of the 2024 elections, that would have increased her chances of winning? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/143 "2026-02-20T03:20:17Z")
It’s The View, nobody is expecting nuanced policy discussions. But like I said, Biden’s approval rating was at 40%. There was no perfect answer to that question, but there were a great many possible answers that would have been far better. You CAN’T just say the guy at 40% is doing a swell job, even if you honestly believe that. She should have had a response to that question prepared in advance, AND she should have been able to do better off the top of her head. The more I think about it, the more inclined I am to change my answer to the OP from “no” to “yes” just based on that one answer to what I’m sure was intended as a softball question. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/144 "2026-02-20T03:25:28Z")
Well probably shouldn’t have turned down Joe Rogan for starters. And if not him certainly things like that, if the voters you need get there information from podcasts, reddiy and social media then there is where you need to be. I’m certainly not an expert here, so the first step I would have suggested would be to hire some and not keep many of the people who were running Biden’s terrible campaign. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/145 "2026-02-20T03:28:27Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > But like I said, Biden’s approval rating was at 40%. Which means nothing. His approval rating among Democrats was 80-87%. Among so-called indys it was 37-43%. Yes, the MAGAs gave him a rating of 4-8%, but they aint voting for him anyway. IIRC trumps last rating was 35%. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/146 "2026-02-20T03:34:43Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Well probably shouldn’t have turned down Joe Rogan for starters. You’ve maybe just reminded me: did RFK jr express interest in endorsing her? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/147 "2026-02-20T03:34:51Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Well probably shouldn’t have turned down Joe Rogan for starters That’s probably true, but she did come very close to doing so (I forget the exact reason why the negotiations broke down and she ended up not doing it). But that was not the difference between her winning or losing. At the end of the day if your one stand out mistake from a campaign is deciding not to do one podcast, then you’ve not run a terrible campaign. > [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > And if not him certainly things like that, But she did do a bunch of other podcasts, etc. including plenty that were not particularly friendly audiences. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/148 "2026-02-20T03:38:15Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > not keep many of the people who were running Biden’s terrible campaign Again in what concrete ways were they terrible? Except having a candidate who was visibly ailing and clearly not medically suited to another four years in office. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/149 "2026-02-20T03:41:23Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > did RFK jr express interest in endorsing her? Yup as I understand it, he approached both parties with his demands (presumably, based on subsequent events, to be given free reign as HHS to kill as many Americans as he wants 😠 ). The Democrats told him to sling his hook, the GOP said “yup absolutely kill as many American children as you want. Well make sure our kids are vaccinated.” ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/150 "2026-02-20T04:08:54Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I don’t think we ever had a chance to see her merits, such as they might have been. She was bland and inoffensive, and that is never enough against a demagogue. I agree completely with this. I’d add that the fact that she seemingly thought that being bland and inoffensive would be enough to win the election shows that she lacks the political instincts to know what it takes to win a close race. She should have known she was down and tried to swing for the fences / throw a Hail Mary / run a full court press / whatever analogy you like for playing aggressively because you’re losing. Instead she campaigned as if she was up and that the right strategy was to run out the clock. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/151 "2026-02-20T04:57:25Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Except having a candidate who was visibly ailing and clearly not medically suited to another four years in office. In _one_ debate when he was suffering from Jet lag and a cold. Mind you, his aides should have talked him out of it. Biden was in better health than trump (okay, that is not a high bar, but still) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/152 "2026-02-20T05:32:48Z")
> [@Hawkeyeop](#): > > Some even goes as far as saying it is voters who are the problem because everyone should have the same life experiences and opinions as us. You go to a place like Reddit you will get way different answers to this question. I don’t think that the collective opinion of a place full of Russian bots and fascists is a good standard to live by (and I’m amused that when I google “full of Russian bots and fascists”, Reddit is the top result). And when voters vote for someone like Trump? Twice? They _are_ the problem. They mean the issue was “how could Kamela have appealed to horrible people who want a horrible President and who hate her because she’s a non-white woman”, and that one of her main problems was that she _wasn’t_ horrible enough for them. Her problem wasn’t that she was “below average”, her problem was that the Democrats were never going to nominate the kind of white bigoted moron that the voters wanted. _All_ the Democrats are “below average” that way, anyone vile and stupid enough to make a good candidate can’t make it past the nomination process. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/153 "2026-02-20T06:40:13Z")
To add to this, when voters are angry and struggling, they want a candidate that shows fight. Kamala didn’t say wrong things, rather, she just was bland, as others said. If she said the same right things she said, but said it in a much more forceful and emphatic way, she might have captured a lot of swing votes. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/154 "2026-02-20T06:43:18Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > If she said the same right things she said, but said it in a much more forceful and emphatic way, she might have captured a lot of swing votes. As I think someone noted upthread, a woman faces a severe double standard in this regard among many people. An attitude and behavior which would be praised as a positive in a man – forceful, confident, take-charge – is often described negatively when a woman shows it: she gets described as “bitchy” and “shrill.” ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/155 "2026-02-20T09:39:55Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Harris lost mainly due to the deep racism and misogyny that still plagues this country One thing that puzzles me is that a lot of people (not necessarily you, but others) claim that Harris being a black woman was a good reason for her to be selected as Biden’s VP in 2020 - “being a black woman is an asset for the ticket” - but then point to her race and gender as the reason she lost to Trump in 2024. Why is being black and a woman a good thing when one is running for vice president, but a bad thing when one is running for president? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/156 "2026-02-20T10:50:56Z")
Because it’s good for votes to show that a political party is willing to assign a position of high esteem like vice president to someone who is from a marginalized group, but not to a position of actual ultimate power, because that power should remain in the hands of the straight white men. Sure, if the straight white guy president drops dead, the minority female will gain that ultimate power, but we can deal with that situation if it happens. But we’re willing to risk that scenario for the minority and feminist votes for the straight white man we are running right now. Yet Obama managed to be elected president under his own steam **twice**. A real question is, (perhaps for another thread) is sexism stronger than racism in America? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/157 "2026-02-20T11:47:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > she gets described as “bitchy” and “shrill.” See also: Rodham-Clinton, Hillary Obama avoided the dreaded Angry Black Man tag, casting instead his persona as the Smooth Cool Brother. And the culture had by then learned to embrace the Smooth Cool Brother, if only because how scared they were of the ABM. So yeah, the people were further along on that aspect. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/158 "2026-02-20T13:46:47Z")
I disagree. IMHO what it came down to is that they (Clinton in 2016 and Harris in 2024), ran at the wrong time. I believe that Clinton would have beat McCain in 2008 had she been the nominee. Harris would have beat Trump in 2020 had she been the nominee. The problem is that they ran their campaigns as if it was 2008 and 2020 respectively, rather than the actual challenge they had, of convincing hard to turn out voters (voters who are more easily motivated to vote against a Republican than for a Democrat) that they should turn out for 4 or 8 more years of Democratic leadership. They didn’t lose because of the misogyny and / or racism of the Republican base. They lost because they didn’t have the right strategy to win over the low motivation anti-Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/159 "2026-02-20T16:24:10Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Basically, his feeling is that voters tended to view Harris as ultra-liberal, partially due to the known fact that voters generally think minority and/or female candidates are more liberal than they actually are, but also due to her very “woke” stances during her brief Presidential run. He feels Harris’ efforts to shed this label were too weak to change the minds of conservative and moderate voters, but strong enough that the progressives identified her as Not One Of Us. > > He thinks she should have found some issue to quarrel with the Left over (ie the Sister Souljah move), and also should have done more to distance herself from her very unpopular boss. Alternately, she could have embraced the progressive brand and tried to win with base turnout (which also would have distanced her from Biden). Instead, she chose to run a “unity” campaign that didn’t criticize or offend any elements of the Democratic coalition, but also didn’t particularly excite the progressive base. He specifically identifies campaigning with Liz Cheney as an example of a strategy that wasn’t going to convince anyone she was a moderate – except for the people who didn’t _want_ her to be a moderate! I would also add to that her decision to basically ignore the stream of transphobic attack ads. Either throwing the trans folks under the bus or mounting a full-throated, principled defense of trans rights probably would have worked better for her. Ok. That makes sense. I was arguing for Sister Souljah move upthread because I thought Trump being Trump was already energizing the Left as much as it was possible in the first place. On the other hand, I learned a few months ago my nephew voted for the communist party candidate because in his own words there isn’t any difference between the Democratic and Republican party. However, we live in Portland, Oregon. He did admit if we lived in a state where our votes would make a difference he would have voted for Harris so take from that what you will. Besides as a single datapoint, I don’t know that I put much stock into his vote. ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801/160 "2026-02-20T16:58:00Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Calder](#): > > > > Please read my OP again and in particular read the last paragraph. > > When you make a long list of why Harris was a bad candidate- with nothing to give the other side, one last line doesnt count for much. Ok, that is fair. I will admit even at the time I was posting it I thought about balancing my post out with positives attributes instead of just negative ones. However, like I said upthread, I ran out of time and ended up adding the very short this is too negative paragraph. Thinking about it more it is also possible that deep down I want Harris to be below average as that means it is more likely that female or minority candidates are viable and thus people I can still consider for supporting in the Democratic Primary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-kamala-harris-a-below-average-democratic-presidential-candidate/1027801.md?page=9)