Then-Senator Kamala Harris of California (left) speaks to the press after the Democratic presidential debate on October 15, 2019. Harris is now the first woman of color to run as the Democratic presidential candidate. She has been Vice President of the United States since January 2021. Photo credit: Casey Cascaldo | Lantern File Photo
This story is the third and final part of a three-part series highlighting historic political news from the summer of 2024. Today’s story focuses on Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman of color on the U.S. presidential ballot.
The summer of 2024 could well go down in history.
While political tensions increased throughout the season, three historic events occurred within a month: the assassination of Donald Trump, President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, and Kamala Harris becoming the first woman of color to run for president in the United States. These events could shake up American politics for decades to come.
Professors at Ohio State University analyze each of these political events and offer their perspectives on how these momentous events might resonate with college-age voters, influence their voting behavior, and even shape their political attitudes.
Wendy Smooth, a professor in the Department of Political Science, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University, responded to claims circulating that Harris was a “DEI choice,” or a candidate nominated solely based on her race and/or gender, saying this type of language reflects the rhetoric used in the years following the civil rights movement.
With the advent of affirmative action programs and the rise of people of color into positions of power, Smooth says the use of phrases like “DEI pick” was common during this time to imply that these individuals lacked “merit” for the positions they held.
Thomas Nelson, a professor in Ohio State University’s political science department whose research focuses on political psychology and American politics, agreed.
“I try to be pretty even-handed, but this is just the classic Republican smear tactic: bringing up race issues to appeal to people’s racial biases while maintaining plausible deniability,” Nelson said. “It’s like saying, ‘I’m not racist. I’m not attacking Harris because of her race, but yeah, I mean, it’s worth asking if she’s a DEI baby.’ That’s just another way of saying she’s incompetent. She only got where she is because of her race and her gender.”
Still, Smooth doesn’t believe college-age voters would be swayed by such comments because they are familiar with and generally supportive of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“We see a lot of energy being directed toward embracing difference, and young people across all of our groups in U.S. society are actually placing a lot more emphasis on understanding cross-cultural differences, thinking deeply about equity, and expecting the spaces they’re in to be inclusive spaces where everyone has a seat at the table, because young people tend to crave opportunities to think beyond what they’ve been taught and to really embrace those differences,” Smooth said.
Herb Asher, a professor emeritus in the political science department with expertise in mass political behavior, agreed, pointing to Harris’s record as a former U.S. senator, California attorney general and vice president as evidence that she is a “successful person.” Like Smooth, however, Asher said he does not believe the Republican Party’s tactic of discussing Harris’ race and gender will do anything to win support, especially among young voters.
“A lot of people give Trump the advice, ‘Talk about issues, talk about the border, talk about inflation, talk about crime,’ but he doesn’t do that,” Asher said. “He doesn’t do that, or when he does, he oversteps his bounds by resorting to personal attacks, abusive attacks. And to go back to your point that college students or young people in general, especially college students, attacking people based on their identity, race, gender or sexual orientation, that’s not what really appeals to young people.”
Smooth said Harris’ campaign – from the announcement of her candidacy to her current status as the Democratic candidate – has given crucial new impetus to the party, and especially to its younger members.
“What we heard from young voters in polling data was that before this summer they were pretty apathetic about this election cycle – a little upset at the idea of two fairly senior men, over 75 years old, running for the White House,” Smooth said. “Many young people expressed that they saw no way to identify with the campaigns or the candidacy of either side.”
While this may not have a decisive impact on the outcome of the election, Nelson said, Harris still has no “peg” or public image. While Trump is known as “Mr. MAGA,” Harris remains an enigma in the general public perception, Nelson said.
“Sooner or later we’re going to have a catch for Harris, and I don’t know what it’s going to be, but people are going to make fun of her – whatever the catch is going to be, people are going to make fun of her for sure,” Nelson said. “But people might also admire him.”
Putting it all together
Although Nelson said voters between the ages of 18 and 25 were among the lowest turnout groups in the U.S., he also said college campuses are “political hot spots” and that students are an advantage in a campaign if candidates can effectively reach them.
“If you can motivate young people, college students, they’re a huge asset to a campaign because they don’t typically work full time,” Nelson said. “They have flexible hours and can volunteer, knock on doors and make phone calls.”
Steigerwald said younger generations have been able to carry out enormous political mobilizations in the past. He said the Cuban missile crisis of the 1960s was a prime example, when it sparked decades of campus revolts against the development of the atomic bomb and the feeling of powerlessness among students reached a peak.
Steigerwald compared this “existential threat” to global climate change and expressed the hope that this threat would unite and motivate students in a similar way.
“I think they are all facing a similar situation,” Steigerwald said. “I still hope, wistfully and romantically, that together they will fight against this feeling of powerlessness and start demanding responsible leadership and real, systematic attempts to contain the environmental catastrophe that we are becoming aware of almost every day.”
Smooth agreed that the environment ranks high among the most important issues for college-age voters – which include jobs, student loans and reproductive health care.
“Young people are very smart and think very long-term about the future. So questions about the environment and sustainability will also be very interesting questions. I think young people will listen to them and get their attention. And we will see how their energy then wanes because both candidates have to talk about these things.”
Assessing the current level of political engagement among this younger demographic, Asher said Harris’ nomination and candidacy were a game changer.
“Now you have a new election,” Asher said. “And Kamala Harris seems more dynamic and also like someone who might be more accessible to younger people than Trump or Biden. And so I think we’re seeing signs that more people are volunteering for her campaign: There are more individual donations coming in, the crowds are bigger, the enthusiasm seems to be greater.”
Regardless of how this summer’s political news influences the election outcome, Nelson said it will be interesting to analyze the long-term impact of the past few months on new voters. Much like 9/11 and the Kennedy assassination left deep scars on their respective generations, this summer’s events could shape the political views of younger people, Nelson said.
“There’s this kind of historical and generational impact, just like something really big and significant that happened while you were developing as a political person, and that shapes how you think about politics for the rest of your life,” Nelson said. “Maybe for people your age, or maybe even a little younger, who lived through all that turmoil over the summer, that’s going to have a lasting impact on their mindset.”
