Kamala Harris is a better Vice President than you probably thought

When Joe Biden selected California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate to face off against Donald Trump and Mike Pence in 2020, it was probably the most predictable choice in the previous century. But how has Harris fared in her role as Vice President?

As a running mate, Harris proved to be a near-invaluable resource for Biden as Politico pointed out when the news organization reviewed the many jobs a good Vice President needs to accomplish. One of which is broadening a presidential administration's appeal. 

A Vice Presidential candidate is tasked with enhancing a presidential administration to a broader group of voters in the party and that gives the position an element of a party official, one person who can pull in voters a presidential candidate can’t reach. 

However, Politico noted that the position of a modern Vice President also had to satisfy two other roles. First, its Executive Branch function, and second its legislative function since the country's second in command is in charge of the senate’s daily proceedings.

“In other words, the vice presidency is two things at once — a party office, and also an executive branch office. And sometimes on top of that, it’s a third thing, too, which is a legislative office,” wrote Politico’s Julia Azari. So how has Harris done in her varying roles? 

Biden originally chose Harris as his running mate for a wide variety of reasons. First, the now-President made a vow to voters that he would pick a female as Vice President, and his one-time political rival checked a lot of important boxes to help his electability. 

“I commit that I will in fact pick a woman to be Vice President. There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow. I would pick a woman to be my vice president,” Biden said back in 2020, and he certainly did choose a qualified woman. 

Harris had not only been vetted on the national stage according to a CNN report but she also had experience in government, represented a younger group of voters at aged 55, and she was the first Black and South Asian woman to have appeared on a national ticket. 

All of these aspects helped bring in voting blocks Biden could reach. A fact exemplified by the energy around Harris’ announcement as Biden’s running mate. For example, a poll from ABC News and The Washington Post from the time found 54% of voters approved of Harris. 

That enthusiasm eventually soured after four years amid rumors Harris was difficult to work with and near-monthly gaffes. But that hasn’t stopped her from being a successful party fundraiser nor has it crushed her ability to bring Biden disparate groups of voters. 

“She has been a superstar for us,” Chris Korge, finance chair of the Biden Victory Fund, told Politico in a separate report on Harris’ ability to fundraise. “I cannot tell you how many donors… have told me after they see her in action… ‘She is really good.’”

Recently, Harris was tapped to confront the war on woke and her actions have been “mobilizing key elements of the diverse coalition that elected her and Joe Biden in 2020” The Hill reported. So in her party office role as VP, Harris seems to be succeeding. 

However, judging Harris’ success in her executive role is slightly more difficult. The Vice President has fumbled for the last four years. Reason Magazine said in February 2023 that Harris was a flop, pointing to the fact that she has no signature issue tied to her. 

“Harris has delivered standard Democratic talking points about the issue of the day or the news cycle. But she hasn't managed to make her work on any of it matter,” Reason Magazine’s Elizabeth Nolan Brown wrote. But all of that might be changing. 

Harris has become the Biden administration’s rapid response to the GOP according to a new report from CNN which said the President’s reelection is counting on Harris’ ability to connect with voters and keep Biden out of the fight while attacking Republican policies. 

In matters of race, reproductive rights, and guns, Harris is finding her signature issues and we should expect to see the Vice President taking on a larger role in these policy areas—proving she can be an effective policy leader at the executive level with Biden. 

Finally, looking at Harris’ role as the President of the Senate, it is easy to see that she has been a success since taking office, though this success and her actions might not seem like it to those who opposed the policies she’s helped enact while leading the Senate. 

The Vice President has the truly unenviable role of breaking ties when votes are equally divided and Harris has cast a near-record 31 tie-breaking votes during her time as Vice President according to the Associated Press. So she’s clearly been successful in her role. 

While some may not like Kamala Harris, it's hard to deny she hasn’t been an effective Vice President, nor that she wouldn’t be again if reelected with Biden in 2024. Harris is getting better at serving as Biden’s number two despite recent polls showing her unpopularity.

More than half the country currently disapproves of Harris according to FiveThirtyEight’s July 23rd average poll rating while only 40.2% approve of the Vice President, a number up from her record lows in mid-June. 

However, despite her poor numbers with the public, Harris has been a surprisingly good Vice President according to the metrics set out by Politico. She is effective at messaging to Democrats and has proven she can be an effective tool in the fight against the GOP.