The narrative being pushed by the mainstream media is that Democrats are now united and energized behind Kamala Harris. For sure, there is some truth to that, as Democrats clearly soured on Biden after his disastrous debate performance. Frankly, the party would have rallied behind anyone. But, behind all the outward enthusiasm and unity, there are clear signs that Kamala is no less toxic for Democrats than Joe Biden was.
For example, a couple of weeks ago, six House Democrats joined with Republicans to condemn "the Biden Administration and its Border Czar, Kamala Harris’s, failure to secure the United States border."
Their criticism of their party's presumptive presidential nominee was a significant break from the solidarity we typically see in the Democratic ranks in Congress. For example, weeks earlier, every House Democrat voted against protecting Title IX.
Vulnerable Senate Democrats seeking reelection this year aren't exactly jumping on her coattails either.
Sen. John Tester, the Democrat from Montana, is considered the most vulnerable Democrat this cycle and he hasn't endorsed Kamala Harris. Republicans are nevertheless linking him directly to the Harris-Biden administration.
“I always say this, and this is true: They try to make me something I’m not so they can run against that person, and that is exactly what they’ve done this cycle,” Tester told the Washington Times.
Of course, Tester is wrong. According to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight, Tester was voting with the Harris-Biden administration 91% of the time as of January of last year before they stopped tracking how members of Congress voted with or against the administration. That tracks with his lifetime score of 8% in Heritage Action's conservative scorecard—which is actually lower than the average Senate Democrat score of 11%.
Related: Democrat Civil War Watch: Fetterman Warns Kamala About Picking Josh Shapiro
Another vulnerable Democrat, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, won't touch Kamala Harris with a ten-foot pole. He not only doesn't plan to campaign with her, but, according to CNN, he won't even be going to the Democratic National Convention.
Sen. Sherrod Brown doesn’t plan to campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris.
He plans to skip the Democratic National Convention. And the Democratic senator isn’t going to defend Harris’ record — or offer praise to President Joe Biden or to Harris over their handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Instead, Brown — now embroiled in a high-stakes reelection battle central to the fight for the next Senate majority — is making this calculation: finding a way to disqualify his opponent, Bernie Moreno, in the eyes of GOP-leaning voters and independents. And it starts with attacking Moreno’s character, past business practices and position on abortion — all as he tries to avoid being tied to the top of his ticket.
When asked about campaigning with Kamala, Brown was conspicuously non-committal.
“I’ve got my own schedule,” he explained. “She’s got her own schedule. I will focus on my race. My strategy is perhaps different from hers … talking about the differences on abortion rights and on the minimum wage between Bernie Moreno and me and how I fight every day for the dignity of work.”
Brown also deflected when asked if he could defend Kamala's record. “My job is to fight for Ohio workers. You can talk about the presidential race. That’s your job. … I know that what will matter is people vote for me because I stand up for workers and will continue to fight for workers.”
Ouch.
