Kamala Harris is a capable political operator – good, because she is only option if Joe Biden steps aside

Recent poll shows she would swing the president’s deficit with women to a lead

Kamala Harris speaks onstage in New Orleans, Louisiana, last week. Photo: Getty

Jennifer Rubin
© Washington Post

The growing consensus among elected Democrats and activist groups is vice president Kamala Harris is the only plausible replacement for Joe Biden.

That is what a vice president does: step in when the president needs to be replaced, temporarily or permanently. A party that has long depended on the votes of black Americans, especially black women, could not – without unleashing a furious backlash and triggering massive defections – kick her to the curb in favour of a random, unvetted white politician.