Election 2024 continues to surprise.
After President Joseph R. Biden dropped out of the presidential election Sunday, he quickly endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to replace him at the top of the ticket.
Biden's decision created a whiplash within the Republican base. GOP leaders launched swift attacks on Harris, labeling her as a “DEI” candidate. But despite the attacks, experts agree that a Harris presidential candidacy is as groundbreaking as Biden’s late withdrawal.
Dr. Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University.
The Democratic National Convention to be held in Chicago, Aug. 19-22, is where a presidential candidate is officially nominated. And while many high-powered Democrats have already endorsed Harris, other notable figures, like former President Barack Obama, said that they will wait until the convention to decide who to endorse.
While Harris’s nomination is not a sure thing, her presidency would likely echo Biden’s policies when it comes to higher education, according to experts. And it is also important, they added, that this potential future president matriculated at an historically Black college and university (HBCU). Harris is also the child of immigrant parents, which would give the presidency another vantage point that it never had before.
Greer said that Harris will likely continue Biden’s radical attempts to relegate, reform, and abolish student loan debt, something that has actively changed the lives of millions of student borrowers. Some of Biden’s policies for higher education were more popular than others, so Greer added that Harris will have to thread the needle carefully when sharing the Biden administration successes while highlighting her own policies. But Harris has already received endorsements from teaching unions and progressive civil rights organizations.
