Opinion: Is America ready for a woman President?

Gender is a significant factor but not the only one as the contest between Trump and Clinton showed

By Monish Tourangbam

US Vice President Kamala Harris and now the official presidential nominee of the Democratic Party speaking at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, said, “…on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks…, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.” Political and cultural icons from the Clintons, Obamas, Bidens, Nancy Pelosi and Oprah Winfrey vouched that Kamala Harris was ready for the job of the 47th US President, and America was ready for Kamala Harris.

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The rise of Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in a matter of weeks has been euphoric. It did not take long for her to gain the support of all heavyweights within the Democratic Party and major fundraisers soon after President Joe Biden quit the race and endorsed her candidacy. Volunteers and fundraising for her saw an unprecedented upswing and the Democratic campaign has witnessed a contagious energy. No doubt, the vibe is currently on Harris’ side, and Donald Trump seems visibly upset with the tectonic shifts in the election atmospherics and having to swing from attacking Biden to Harris. However, Trump’s election in 2016 as the 45th US President came by defeating another woman candidate, Hillary Clinton, whose win was largely seen as a slam-dunk until the night of November 8, 2016. So, the question still remains: Is America ready for a woman President?

Candidacy Matters

Irrespective of the final result in November, that Kamala Harris holds the second highest political office in the US as Vice President and that she is so close to becoming the first female President of the country is already worthy of history books. Born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, she already wears many feathers on her hat and no number of racial slurs from the Trump campaign is going to take anything away from her enviable resume.

An election campaign that had gone into a slumber, with two old white men fighting for a rematch that no one was enthusiastic about, Kamala Harris’ wildcard entry has not only re-energised the Democratic camp but also revitalised the race, waking up the Trump campaign from the rocking chair. The Trump campaign had gotten used to attacking Biden for his old age and four years in office. Now, Trump at 78 is the old person in the race facing a much younger Harris at 59. Roughly, 16 years ago in 2008, the rise of Obama as the presidential candidate shook the socio-political landscape in the country, and Kamala Harris’ candidacy is no less significant as a woman of colour breaking new glass ceilings.

Harris Vibe

No doubt, the Harris vibe is for real and volunteers plus fundraising in a matter of weeks have spiked for the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz ticket. A spring of hope to defeat Trump a second time has now replaced the gloom and doom that had set in the Democratic camp after the first Trump vs Biden debate. However, polling day will be a different day. Will the vibe translate into voter registration and voter turnouts for Harris, and finally give America its first woman President? It is still anybody’s guess but the race is extremely close and undecided voters, particularly in the swing States, will perhaps decide the winner.

Among the developments, the one brewing among Republicans wary of a Trump 2.0 is significant. They may not necessarily like Harris or agree with her policies, but they do consider Trump’s second term as far more dangerous to the country than a win for Kamala Harris. Republicans for Harris coalitions are picking up steam in a number of swing States. The ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) movement within the Republican Party is creating unease among many Republicans and the Harris campaign sees an opportunity for turning any disenchantment for Trump to support and vote for the Democratic Party’s nominee.

Women Voters

Despite numerous election pundits and statistical wizards putting their minds on electoral mathematics, every election season proves that it is not easy to come up with precise predictions about the choices that the diverse American electorate will make. Moreover, how women vote in presidential elections is hard to predict, even when one of the candidates happens to be a woman as the Clinton vs Trump race proved in 2016.

Women voters are not a monolith and variations depending on the location (such as in urban vs suburban areas), racial identities (playing a more potent role in the case of Harris’ campaign) plus the age and education level of women voters will be important factors in the permutations and combinations. Moreover, the extent to which the energy and euphoria in campaign rallies and social media activism will translate into actual votes will play a crucial role as the judgement day is less than three months away. In other words, Kamala Harris has the task of running perhaps the shortest presidential campaign in history, after having taken over the baton from Biden, and has much ground to cover in terms of turning hope and enthusiasm into votes.

Gender is indeed a significant factor in how Americans will vote, but clearly, it is not the only factor, as the previous contest between Trump and Clinton showed. Moreover, Trump’s unhinged misogynistic remarks also do not foretell any conclusions about how women will vote. In previous elections, Trump has managed to get a sizeable number of votes among certain sections of the women’s electorate.

Trump, since emerging on the US political scene as one of the most surprising presidential candidates roughly eight years ago, has proved to be a highly disruptive cultural phenomenon exposing inherent schisms in America. Kamala Harris is no less a cultural phenomenon invoking new energy in the question of race and gender in US election dynamics. So, how Americans vote in November will be extremely crucial for how the politics and society of America will be studied and analysed for years to come, inside America and abroad, irrespective of who finally wins.

(The author is Director at the Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies)