Kamala Harris is redefining political campaigns with her unique strategy of staying loosely defined and free of political debts. She keeps everyone guessing.
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Kamala Harris
They say you should dance with the one that brought you.
However, in American politics, Kamala Harris is proving that sometimes, you can dance all by yourself—and maybe that is the best way to keep your dance card open.
Kamala Harris’ rapid rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has been nothing short of a political whirlwind.
If you blinked, you might have missed it.
She was the woman waiting in the wings, the understudy who got called up when the leading man, President Joe Biden, took his final bow.
However, unlike most politicians who claw their way to the top, gathering IOUs from every VIP and power broker along the way, Harris found herself in an almost unheard-of position: free of the usual political debts that bind candidates like so much duct tape.
The Chicago Conundrum: Building a Coalition with No Strings Attached
Coming out of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris did not just build a coalition—she built an empire.
Everyone there was claiming her as their own, from Hollywood elites to Silicon Valley moguls.
The only ones who seemed less than thrilled were President Joe Biden’s family and a few of his die-hard staffers.
However, when you ascend to the top the way Harris did—replacing an octogenarian incumbent without a primary fight and the entire Democratic establishment rallying behind you in just 48 hours—you end up in a pretty unique position.
No one can say they put you there, so you owe no one anything.
This is the Kamala Harris exception: a candidate with no strings attached and no one pulling the puppet strings behind the scenes.
It is a liberating place to be.
Harris can remain vague on policy, play around with identity politics, and even sidestep the Gaza debates that have historically torn her party apart.
She can tack left, right, or center as she sees fit because who will deny her a check or an endorsement? No one is in a position to do so.
The New Harris: Centrist, Strong, and Somehow Still the Newcomer
In a political magic trick that would make Houdini proud, Harris has positioned herself as the “newcomer.”
It is a neat trick, considering she has been in the Biden administration for over three years.
However, while Biden looks every bit the aging incumbent, Harris comes off as the fresh face, the one with new ideas—even if those ideas haven’t precisely been fleshed out yet.
Moreover, that is precisely the point.
Harris is playing the long game.
She is keeping her options open, remaining undefined, and it is working.
After all, she is not weighed down by the baggage of a drawn-out primary.
There is no mountain of promises to special interest groups, no laundry list of commitments that could box her into a corner.
The Art of Raising Money: No Baggage, No Problem
Speaking of baggage, Harris only had a small quantity of it when raising money.
There was some concern early on that she might struggle to fill the campaign coffers, especially since many top Democratic donors did not know her well.
However, that worry evaporated faster than a snowflake in July.
Harris raised more money—$520 million—faster than anyone ever, pulling in more donors in 10 days than Joe Biden managed in 15 months of campaigning.
It is an impressive feat, especially considering she did not have to write a 300-page governing plan to do it.
It was her lack of definition that made her so appealing.
As David Pepper, former head of the Ohio Democratic Party, put it, “The way this played out so quickly, and so late, averted the usual process of building support over a drawn-out campaign.”
For Harris, it was liberating.
She would enter the presidency with far fewer IOUs than the previous guys, which, in a primary, tend to pile up like overdue library books.
The Obama Parallel: Blank Screen vs. Blank Slate
If Barack Obama had once described himself as a “blank screen” on which people projected their views, Harris would have been the blank slate, and the party would have been more than happy to let her stay that way.
Obama had to define himself during a grueling primary against Hillary Clinton, carving out a niche to the left with policies like opposition to the Iraq War and pledges for sweeping healthcare reform.
Harris, by contrast, is remarkably undefined for someone so close to the presidency.
She is the insider who manages to stay an enigma.
Sure, she is part of the Biden administration but has not been tied down by it.
Instead, she is free to craft her agenda, unhindered by the kinds of commitments from a drawn-out primary fight.
If Democrats projected their hopes for national redemption onto Obama, what they are projecting onto Harris is something more primal: the fervent desire to keep Donald Trump out of office.
It is not about who she is or who she is not. Moreover, that is working for her.
The Short Campaign: Outsider vs. Incumbent (Sort of)
In this short, European-style campaign, Harris is playing the outsider.
Trump is trying to force her to own the Biden record and pin her down on specifics, but Harris is playing it smart.
She stays vague where she needs to be, avoiding the traps that could bog her down.
Her strategy is to stay loosely defined for as long as possible.
After all, the less defined she is, the harder it is for her opponents to pin her down.
Of course, this strategy has its risks. Harris tends to keep talking even when she has little to say, which could be a vulnerability in the debates.
However, she managed to be both crisp and vague, a combination that has kept her ahead.
The Future: What Happens if She Wins?
Harris has more upside in staying undefined for the duration of the race.
However, what happens if she wins?
The lack of a specific mandate could reignite Democratic factionalism and make for a messy start to her term.
Then again, that is a problem the Democrats would love to have.
For now, Harris is focused on the task at hand: winning.
She is dancing without strings attached, and if she makes it to the White House, she will do it on her terms.
The Kamala Harris exception may become the new rule.
The Final Countdown: Nine Weeks to Go
With nine weeks left until the election, the Harris campaign is in full swing.
The strategy is clear: stay unowned, stay loosely defined, and keep the momentum going.
Trump will continue to push her to define herself and commit to policies that could be used against her.
However, Harris is playing it cool. She knows that the less defined she is, the better her chances.
It is a tightrope walk, but if anyone can pull it off, it is Kamala Harris.
She is rewriting the rules, dancing with no strings, and keeping everyone guessing. Moreover, in politics, that is a good place to be.
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