I think such a ticket would be very dynamic and strong. Of course, people like Glenn will call them both extreme far-left socialists, but If Ronald Reagan himself ran as a Dem, that's why Glenn would be calling him, too.The next presidential election is three years away. Recent reports about early concern over whether President Joe Biden will run for reelection in 2024 and about tension between potential 2024 rivals, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Vice President Kamala Harris are, to some extent, standard Washington gossip that can be safely ignored. Still, there may be something more than that.
Buttigieg is clearly very ambitious, ran an impressive presidential campaign in 2020 and has only strengthened his political skills since then. Harris, as the vice president, is a leading contender to be the face of the post-Joe Biden Democratic Party. Each may see the other as standing in their way as 2024 approaches. This is particularly important because the 79-year-old Biden, despite wisely sending signals that he will seek reelection in 2024, may decide that he doesn't want to run three years from now.
If Biden does run, as an incumbent, he has an advantage. But if he chooses not to, that doesn't mean Democrats are doomed.
A primary campaign between Harris and Buttigieg could pit two key Democratic constituencies against each other: African Americans, particularly African American women, and LGBTQ voters. The impact of that fight would be even worse if it began in 2023 and took over the second half of Biden's current term.
Fortunately, this is a problem that can be easily solved without either politician having to give up anything lasting. Harris and Buttigieg instead could agree that, if Biden does not run again, they would run together in 2024, with Harris the nominee for president and Buttigieg for vice-president. This could put an end to whatever feuding exists between them now, while giving the Democratic Party a very strong ticket in 2024 that would seem like a natural continuation of Biden's first term.
A Harris-Buttigieg ticket would showcase two dynamic politicians and represent the breadth and diversity of the Democratic Party, and indeed the whole country, while not veering too far left and alienating key swing voters who Biden won in 2020.
This ticket would be balanced with regards to geography: Harris is unmistakably Californian while Buttigieg is from Indiana, and brings with him a deep understanding of the Midwest.
Harris would be 60 years old on Election Day 2024, while Buttigieg would be 42, so there would be generational balance there as well. Both nominees represent important Democratic Party constituencies -- Harris is an African American and Asian American woman, while Buttigieg is a gay man. This would help mobilize important parts of the Democratic base. However, both politicians are essentially moderates, so it would be hard for the Republican Party to effectively tar them as radicals, socialists or anything like that -- something they would undoubtedly try to do. During, and since, the 2020 election, the right wing has tried to paint Harris as being on the far left, but that attack never got much traction.
A Harris-Buttigieg ticket would also have a fair amount of star power. Although Harris did very poorly when she ran for president in 2020, we have seen glimpses of what she can be, including the first presidential debate of the primary season when she landed some very effective attacks on Biden. Later, during the vice-presidential debate, she more than held her own against a very polished Mike Pence. It's also visible in the easy and strong rapport she has with many voters. Buttigieg has shined in recent months, as well during the 2020 general election, due to his media skills, fast wit and sharp intellect.
But the reality is, he can't name anything far-left about them, as he knows NOTHING of their actual stances or, in Harris' case, their voting records.
