One year into the Biden Administration, a critical mass of Democrats didn’t think he should run again. They saw the handwriting on the wall that early, yet sat on their hands for two more years. They should’ve been quietly identifying an alternate candidate, along with developing a surefire strategy that would leave the GOP eating dust. Instead, they chose to wait until the eleventh hour to start publicly throwing barbs at the president when he stumbled. The antics exposed the widening cracks in the party while cannibalizing a U.S. president.

Black voters have been steadily leaving the Democratic Party since President Obama left office. Black women, in particular, have not been pleased with our returns on hard-fought wins for the Dems. A poll by the Pew Research Center indicated that 95 percent of Black female voters supported Biden in 2020. Fast forward to 2024 where polls show our support took a steep dip to 70 percent in the race between Biden and trump.

Those Black voters drifting from the Democratic Party often sing the What Have You Done for Me Lately song. As loyal as we are, our votes have been taken for granted. Poll after poll underscored the deepening divide in the fragile coalition of voters that Biden was hoping to rely on for a repeat victory to the White House. But we’ve been pointing out issues particular to us that haven’t been addressed under Biden, like health disparities, like mass incarceration. In fact, Biden’s rhetoric and policies have only fueled the appalling trend of incarceration, often parroting the aspirations of urban police. I don’t expect Harris to be any better on mass incarceration. As a former prosecutor in California, she helped to lock up plenty of Black and Brown people.

As a potential presidential nominee, Harris can only expect success if the Democrats launch a serious, vibrant grassroots campaign that informs and galvanizes all the constituents that trump has marginalized and criminalized. It has not done such an undertaking in years. The Party raised nearly $50 million since Harris took center stage. How will it spend its money in the next three months? It has refused to invest resources in campaigns that keep voters empowered and energized. The GOP is masterful at doing exactly this. They keep racking up victories on the local and state levels and never look back.

I think the Dems have misjudged the political climate for a Harris victory. The Third Reconstruction that unleashed the whitelash is real. The party has also ignored the ugly history of discrimination against Black people and women. Race and gender will be on trial in 2024. Harris embodies both of these identities and should expect both overt and stealth opposition to her candidacy, including from her own party.

That leads me to AOC who gave us powerful insight into the current state of the Democratic Party. In a video message on her Instagram page, AOC cautioned the country that the same Dems who didn’t want Biden certainly don’t want Kamala Harris. They are about maintaining the status quo.

Said the Congresswoman from New York, “if you think that there is consensus among the people who want Joe Biden to leave…that they will support Kamala…you would be mistaken.”

This presidential race is on track for many firsts, none of them are particularly flattering. We have a convicted felon running for president. The Republicans know their candidate is flawed —racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic. But that’s not the point. They are pushing a game plan that is superior to the character of the candidate. Maybe the Democrats will figure out its game plan by the November election.