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How Good or Bad a Campaign Did Harris Run?

 Member Newsletter
November 8, 2024 10:30 a.m.
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 06: Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage as she concedes the election, at Howard University on November 06, 2024 in Washington, DC. After a con... WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 06: Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage as she concedes the election, at Howard University on November 06, 2024 in Washington, DC. After a contentious campaign focused on key battleground states, the Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump was projected to secure the majority of electoral votes, giving him a second term as U.S. President. Republicans also secured control of the Senate for the first time in four years. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) MORE LESS

Running for president is a “no excuses” endeavor. If you win you become the most powerful person in the world and if you lose you become a dumping ground for disappointment, ridicule, blame, recrimination. And that’s just from your friends. It’s an enterprise both binary and brutal.

Democrats have much bigger challenges ahead than worrying about Kamala Harris’ feelings or future reputation. That’s not my concern here. But it’s important for every aspect of what Democrats have to do going forward to understand as well as they can what happened, why it happened and more. You know my opinion. I wrote the day before the election that I thought she ran a near-flawless campaign. I wanted to commit that to virtual paper in advance of the result because we inevitably judge campaigns by reading back from the result.

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