What a crazy ride it has been for Democrats this summer.
You only have to go back to Independence Day — just a week after President Joe Biden’s terrible debate performance in Atlanta — and there were many Democrats in Congress worried sick about being blitzed by Republicans in November.
Not even a month later, with Vice President Kamala Harris now at the helm of the ticket, Democrats suddenly have the election momentum. It’s been a surge that has left members of both parties stunned.
“The vice president’s launch has been spectacular,” said U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who like many Democrats stuck publicly with Biden, even as some were very worried about his reelection chances, until the president dropped out of the 2024 race in favor of Harris.
“She has seized the initiative and the momentum,” Ossoff said as he cradled a cup of coffee in a U.S. Capitol elevator. “She’s rapidly united the Democratic Party.”
Downstairs in the basement, reporters quickly crowded around a very happy U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. Unlike back in early July, Warnock didn’t have to parry questions about Biden like an Olympic fencer in a gold medal match.
“My phone has been blowing up over the last few days,” Warnock said with a broad smile, as he was asked about this week’s visit to Atlanta by Harris. “She knows that the road to the White House goes through Georgia.”
At the Capitol, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist or a political scientist to realize how much the election vibes have changed since Biden dropped out on July 21 (yes, it only happened on July 21).
Walking past Ossoff and Warnock in the hallways, GOP lawmakers still seemed this week like they had been caught flat-footed by the Democratic Party switch, not yet in sync on a unified campaign message.
Some of the GOP attacks on Harris have been puzzling, such as talking points for Republican Senate candidates that made fun of the way she laughs or noted that Harris likes Venn diagrams and electric school buses.
House GOP leaders even had to go so far as to warn their colleagues to stop calling Harris a ”DEI hire,” urging Republicans to focus on her record — not her race or gender.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump this week called Harris a ”bum,” almost like he was yelling at football players from the stands.
“It’s clear that former President Trump has no idea how to attack her,” Ossoff said as he walked to the Senate floor.
We’ve already had one big plot twist. There are still three months to go.
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at http://jamiedupree.substack.com.
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