Battenfeld: Flustered Democrats turn to Kamala Harris to rescue party’s presidential hopes

Flustered Democrats are quietly turning to Vice President Kamala Harris to rescue the party’s White House hopes amid increasing evidence that Joe Biden will be forced out.

Kamala Harris may be the only “plan B” for Democrats to beat Republican Donald Trump. She has high unfavorable ratings and a dismal track record but has a better chance of beating Trump than Biden does.

Other ambitious Democrats hoping to get a crack at Trump include Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Gov. Gretchen Witmer of Michigan and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.

But it’s going to be difficult if not impossible for Democrats to pass over Harris, 59, the first Black vice president who has been waiting in the wings for four years. The only other Democrat who could pass over Harris is Michelle Obama, but she has shown no appetite to run.

With more angry Democrats looking for Biden to drop out, the New York Times reported the president is aware he may not be able to continue unless he makes a quick recovery in the coming days.

The Democrat-leaning media is also second-guessing itself for not reporting earlier on Biden’s cognitive slide and for disparaging a Wall Street Journal article about Biden’s mental fitness,, calling it a partisan hit piece. Only now are reporters asking tough questions of the White House about the president’s mental state.

Biden has a crucial interview planned with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday, and he needs to show he is still mentally capable of governing. But the public is already concluding Biden should bow out — three quarters of Americans believe he cannot continue to run.

Biden met with Democratic governors including Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey Wednesday night to shore up support in a party that is quickly abandoning him.

Harris is already privately positioning herself as the Biden alternative in case the president acknowledges reality and allows her to take the nomination this summer before the party’s August convention. Biden has won 3,894 delegates in the primaries but those could be easily transferred to Harris during the convention. Harris would also have access to the formidable $240 million Biden-Harris campaign war chest.

Publicly she is backing Biden — for now.

“Vice President Harris looks forward to serving a second term with President Joe Biden,” her office said in a statement.

A CNN poll showed that in a match against Trump, Harris gets just 45% of the vote — two points lower than her Republican opponent. Biden trails Trump by six points in the CNN poll.

Harris has had a shaky performance as VP including several prominent gaffes and a role as immigration czar that she didn’t seem eager to take on.

She also ran a lousy campaign for president in 2020 and eventually she was forced to drop out. Harris also has a shaky relationship with Jill Biden over attacks Harris made against Joe Biden in the 2020 campaign.

There is no optimism in the Democratic Party that Harris can magically turn into a great candidate at the top of the ticket. Look for Newsom or perhaps other contenders to emerge at the convention in a bid to snag the nomination or to be considered for Harris's running mate.