Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
      • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito argued abortion isn’t an economic issue. But is that true?

        Chabeli Carrazana · May 4
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • The 19th Explains: Why the nursing shortage isn’t going away anytime soon

        Mariel Padilla · September 23
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8
      • Voter ID laws stand between transgender people, women and the ballot box

        Barbara Rodriguez · October 14
      • Emily’s List expands focus on diverse candidates and voting rights ahead of midterm elections

        Errin Haines · August 30

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Sen. Kamala Harris, photographed here in Washington in August, will debate Mike Pence on October 7, 2020.
Sen. Kamala Harris, photographed here in Washington in August, will debate Mike Pence on October 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Election 2020

For Kamala Harris, the debate is when skill meets opportunity

Harris will bring her experience as a Black woman and a skilled litigator to her debate with Mike Pence.

Errin Haines

Editor-at-large

Errin Haines portrait

Published

2020-10-07 11:06
11:06
October 7, 2020
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

When Sen. Kamala Harris steps onto the debate stage Wednesday night, voters will see something they’ve never seen before: a woman of color as a major party candidate representing the general election presidential ticket.

Throughout Harris’ pioneering political career, she has navigated a gauntlet of race and gender to ascend to the highest elected office ever held by a Black woman. As the lone Black woman currently serving as a United States senator, she has won praise and drawn scorn as a member of the Judiciary Committee for her high-profile exchanges with White men in power and seeking power.

Last summer, as a candidate for president, it was Harris who introduced the issue of race onto the debate stage, challenging then-frontrunner and her eventual partner on the 2020 Democratic ticket, Joe Biden, on his record on school desegregation and busing. 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Observers say her past experiences as a prosecutor, as a senator and running for presidential office have all forged Harris into a candidate ready to meet her moment and make the case for the Biden-Harris ticket in the home stretch of a consequential and chaotic election. With many voters focused on the dual pandemics of coronavirus and systemic racism, she is expected to draw a sharp contrast with Vice President Mike Pence, who served as head of the president’s Coronavirus Task Force.

“For any woman of color, when you reach this level of ascendancy in whatever field, you don’t get there without having gone into the lion’s den and come up against the power structure which is, by and large, White and male,” said Democratic strategist Leah Daughtry. “Going into spaces where we are not expected, where we are diminished, where we are underestimated, we do that every day. We are constantly in a state of proving ourselves. She’s done this before.”

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a friend, fellow competitor on the 2020 Democratic campaign trail and one of only three Black senators, said Wednesday that Harris has been overcoming racism and sexism for her entire career.

“When it comes to what people might be heaping upon her, saying about her, there is nothing that this Black woman hasn’t faced in terms of racism, bigotry and sexism before and overcome it to an extraordinary degree,” Booker said. 

“Watching her under attack … seeing her being challenged left and right, she has this powerful way of making it about the mission and not the person,” Booker continued. “She will be up there tonight keeping the focus on the American people, their lives, their challenges. There’s so many Americans that will find her story compelling and something they can relate to.”

The 90-minute debate — moderated by USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page and being held at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City — is expected to be less raucous than last week’s first presidential debate of the general election, which was short on policy or plans to address the pandemic and heavy on personality and ego. 

“She will talk about how to handle the COVID pandemic and how to unify the country around systemic racism,” Democratic strategist Karen Finney said of Harris. “That’s what Americans are looking for right now. The debate last week was just a train wreck.” 

The role of the vice president has taken on outsized importance this cycle, as whichever candidate gets the job will have to confront the economic and public health crises caused by the pandemic. And with two presidential candidates in their late seventies — including President Donald Trump, who is among the more than 7.5 million Americans who have contracted COVID-19, and both men in the vulnerable age group of people disproportionately dying of the disease — the health and ages of the vice presidential candidates (Harris is 55 and Pence is 61) is also a consideration. 

Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said Harris will bring passion, optimism and authenticity to the stage.

“No matter what party you’re affiliated with, this is an opportunity to listen,” said Jarrett, part of the “We Have Her Back” campaign aimed at pushing back against negative gendered narratives aimed at Harris. 

“Anybody who gets in the way of that will not be well-received by the public,” Jarrett continued. “I hope Vice President Pence does not attempt to do to her what President Trump attempted to do to Vice President Biden,” she said, referring to the president’s dozens of interruptions of Biden and moderator Chris Wallce. “Let her finish her thought.”

The “We Have Her Back” campaign released a report this week analyzing media coverage of the 2020 vice presidential nomination process and found that a quarter of media coverage of Harris included racist and sexist tropes. Trump has referred to Harris as “nasty” and “mean” and has mispronounced her first name at his campaign rallies. 

Earlier this year, Harris returned to the Senate after dropping out of the Democractic presidential primary and has pushed for legislation addressing the inequalities exposed in the pandemic, including calling for racial data around COVID-19 cases and deaths; legislation addressing housing and food insecurity; protections for pregnant people; and voter access in the pandemic.

Since becoming Biden’s running mate in August, Harris has echoed his message calling for the need to address racial injustice and mirroring his precautions in the pandemic, including masking and social distancing on the campaign trail. On the debate stage, at Harris’ request, the candidates will be separated by a clear, plastic barrier and will sit 12 feet apart — twice the distance between the presidential candidates last week. 

Both Harris and Pence tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday. Pence had reportedly opposed the barrier being on stage, a physical reminder of the pandemic, though he eventually dropped his objections.

The debate commission did not release the debate topics in advance as they did for the first presidential debate, but the pandemic is expected to dominate the conversation. More than 210,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 this year.

Campaign aides said Harris will focus on framing the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic as part of a pattern of failure over the past four years. Harris will not be fact-checking Pence if he makes untrue statements, but she could bring attention to such remarks, aides said.

The vice presidential candidates’ contrasting styles will also be on display. 

Pence, a former talk radio show host with an even demeanor, is not expected to be the bombastic scene-stealer of the night, as the president was last week. Still, he will likely stick to the campaign’s talking points, which could include misinformation.

“Tonight we do expect Mike Pence to have a good debate,” said Symone Sanders, a senior adviser to the Biden-Harris campaign. “We’re not coming in underestimating him. Sen. Harris will be speaking directly to voters at home, not questioning Mike Pence. We expect Vice President Pence to attack Sen. Harris and try to sow division within the Democratic Party.” 

Harris, a former prosecutor, has a methodical style that, on the debate stage, has also highlighted her personality. But in confirmation hearings as a senator, Harris has been withering against adversaries like former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, current Attorney General Bill Barr and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“She doesn’t have to go out and land a knockout punch against Mike Pence,” said Democratic strategist Bakari Sellers, a Harris surrogate during her 2020 campaign who was among those advising her headed into Wednesday night.

Sellers said that while Pence is “extremely talented” and not to be underestimated, any attempt to “otherize” Harris will fall flat.

“The senator knows that she has to go out and prove that she can be president of the United States,” Sellers said. “She’s joyful, honest and has faith in what this country can be, and she’s going to show that [at the debate].”

Daughtry added that Harris’s lived experience and command of the realities of the pandemic could give her an advantage Pence lacks.

“That helps her to discuss the issues with an incisiveness and with an accuracy that Mike Pence’s experience does not give him,” Daughtry said. “Mike Pence is the one who is the amateur here.”

With less than four weeks to go until Election Day and millions of Americans already casting ballots in states by mail or in-person across the country, both campaigns are seeking to generate excitement and enthusiasm headed into the home stretch. A historic night could galvanize Black women in particular, regarded as the vanguard of the Democratic Party and seen as crucial to a Biden-Harris victory.

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

“This is an opportunity for Kamala Harris to speak for herself, to speak for the campaign and to speak clearly to Americans about why the choice couldn’t be clearer between Joe Biden and Donald Trump,” said The Collective PAC co-founder Stefanie Brown James. “Part of the pressure on Kamala Harris’ shoulders is that she carries the culture of so many different communities. At the same time, she has to be the embodiment of a person who is championing policies that will advance all Americans.”

As the lone Black and South Asian American woman in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Harris’ identities were unfamiliar to some voters, and she failed to gain traction. But her race and gender have been in the spotlight as a running mate, as Harris has met in smaller groups with Black men and women voters in battleground states in cities including Milwaukee, Detroit and Philadelphia.

A pair of Biden-Harris campaign ads released ahead of the debate and airing in battleground states focus on Black voters. One features Harris on the trail, masked and meeting with voters and talking about the ticket’s planned pandemic response if elected; the other shows a young, Black girl excited about Harris’ candidacy.  

“The fact that, for the first time ever in the history of this country, there will be a Black woman, and Indian woman, a woman of immigrant parents on the stage as a vice presidential nominee is incredible,” said James. “It represents so many voices that have never been heard before at that level. We cannot take moments when history is being made for granted.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Help sustain what we started

Your monthly investment is critical to our sustainability as a nonprofit newsroom.

Donate Today

Become a member

Up Next

A sign hanging outside of a building that reads,

Election 2020

How to watch the vice presidential debate between Pence and Harris

Everything viewers should know about the debate — likely to be the most viewed and most consequential vice presidential debate in history.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram