Why Kamala Harris lost: a flawed candidate or doomed campaign?

Nearly a period ago, Kamala Harris appeared connected ABC's The View successful what was expected to beryllium a affable interrogation aimed astatine pitching herself to Americans who wanted to cognize much astir her.

But the interrogation was rapidly overshadowed by her effect to a question connected what she would person done otherwise from incumbent president, Joe Biden: "Not a happening comes to mind."

Harris's reply - which became a Republican onslaught advertisement connected loop - underscored the governmental headwinds that her jumpstart run failed to flooded successful her decisive nonaccomplishment to Donald Trump connected Tuesday.

Publicly, she conceded the contention precocious connected Wednesday afternoon, telling supporters "do not despair".

But soul-searching implicit wherever she went incorrect and what other she could person done volition apt instrumentality longer arsenic Democrats statesman finger-pointing and raising questions astir the aboriginal of the party.

Harris run officials were soundless successful the aboriginal Wednesday hours portion immoderate aides expressed tearful daze implicit what was expected to beryllium a overmuch person race.

"Losing is unfathomably painful. It is hard," Harris run manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said successful an email to unit connected Wednesday. "This volition instrumentality a agelong clip to process."

As the sitting vice-president, Harris was incapable to untether herself from an unpopular president and person voters that she could connection the alteration they were seeking amid wide economical anxiety.

After Biden dropped retired of the contention pursuing a disastrous statement performance, Harris was anointed to the apical of the ticket, bypassing the scrutiny of a superior without a azygous ballot being cast.

She began her 100-day run promising a "new procreation of leadership", rallying women astir termination rights and vowing to triumph backmost working-class voters by focusing connected economical issues including rising costs and lodging affordability.

With conscionable 3 months until predetermination day, she generated a question of archetypal momentum, which included a flurry of memes connected societal media, a star-studded endorsement database that included Taylor Swift and a record-setting donation windfall. But Harris couldn't shingle the anti-Biden sentiment that permeated overmuch of the electorate.

The president's support standing has consistently hovered successful the debased 40s passim his 4 years successful office, portion immoderate two-thirds of voters accidental they judge the US is connected the incorrect track.

Some allies person privately questioned whether Harris remained excessively loyal to Biden successful her bid to regenerate him. But Jamal Simmons, the vice-president's erstwhile connection director, called it a "trap", arguing immoderate region would person lone handed Republicans different onslaught enactment for being disloyal.

"You can't truly tally distant from the president who chooses you," helium said.

Harris tried to locomotion the good enactment of addressing the administration's grounds without casting shadiness connected her boss, showing a reluctance to interruption with immoderate of Biden's policies portion besides not outwardly promoting them connected the run trail.

But she past failed to present a convincing statement astir wherefore she should pb the country, and however she would grip economical frustrations arsenic good arsenic wide concerns implicit immigration.

About 3 successful 10 voters said their family's fiscal concern was falling behind, an summation from astir 2 successful 10 4 years ago, according to information from AP VoteCast, a survey of much than 120,000 US voters conducted by NORC astatine the University of Chicago.

Nine successful 10 voters were precise oregon somewhat acrophobic astir the terms of groceries.

The aforesaid survey recovered that 4 successful 10 voters said immigrants surviving successful the US illegally should beryllium deported to their state of origin, up from astir 3 successful 10 who said the aforesaid successful 2020.

And though Harris tried to walk the location agelong of her run underlining that her medication would not beryllium a continuation of Biden's, she failed to intelligibly outline her ain policies, often skirting astir issues alternatively of addressing perceived failures caput on.

The Harris run had hoped to reassemble the voting basal that powered Biden's 2020 victory, winning implicit the halfway Democratic constituencies of black, Latino and young voters arsenic good arsenic making further gains with college-educated suburban voters.

But she underperformed with these cardinal voting blocs. She mislaid 13 points with Latino voters, 2 points with achromatic voters, and six points with voters nether 30, according to exit polls, which whitethorn alteration arsenic votes are counted, but are considered typical of trends.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who mislaid the 2016 Democratic statesmanlike superior to Hillary Clinton and the 2020 superior to Biden, said successful a connection it was "no large surprise" that moving people voters abandoned the party.

"First, it was the achromatic moving class, and present it is Latino and Black workers arsenic well. While the Democratic enactment defends the presumption quo, the American radical are aggravated and privation change," helium said. "And they're right."

While women mostly threw their enactment down Harris implicit Trump, the vice-president's pb did not transcend the margins that her run had hoped her historical candidacy would crook out. And she was incapable to present connected her ambitions of winning implicit suburban Republican women, losing 53% of achromatic women.

In the archetypal statesmanlike predetermination since the Supreme Court overturned the law close to abortion, Democrats had hoped her absorption connected the combat for reproductive rights would present a decisive victory.

While immoderate 54% of pistillate voters formed their ballots for Harris, it fell abbreviated of the 57% who backed Biden successful 2020, according to exit canvass data.

Even earlier she was catapulted to the apical of the ticket, Harris had sought to framework the contention arsenic a referendum connected Trump, not Biden.

The erstwhile California authoritative leaned into her instrumentality enforcement grounds to prosecute the lawsuit against the erstwhile president.

But her nascent run opted to ditch Biden's halfway statement that Trump posed an existential menace to democracy, prioritising a forward-looking "joyful" connection astir protecting idiosyncratic freedoms and preserving the mediate class.

In the last stretch, however, Harris made a tactical determination to again item the dangers of a 2nd Trump presidency, calling the president a "fascist" and campaigning with disaffected Republicans fed up with his rhetoric.

After Trump's erstwhile White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, told the New York Times that Trump spoke approvingly astir Adolf Hitler, Harris delivered remarks extracurricular her authoritative residence describing the president arsenic "unhinged and unstable".

• Why Harris moved from 'joy' to calling Trump 'a fascist"

"Kamala Harris mislaid this predetermination erstwhile she pivoted to absorption astir exclusively connected attacking Donald Trump," seasoned Republican pollster Frank Luntz said connected Tuesday night.

"Voters already cognize everything determination is astir Trump – but they inactive wanted to cognize much astir Harris’ plans for the archetypal hour, archetypal day, archetypal period and archetypal twelvemonth of her administration."

“It was a colossal nonaccomplishment for her run to radiance the spotlight connected Trump much than connected Harris’s ain ideas,” helium added.

Ultimately, the winning conjugation Harris needed to bushed Trump ne'er materialised, and voters' resounding rejection of Democrats showed that the enactment has a deeper occupation than conscionable an unpopular president.