(NewsNation) — As the 2024 U.S. election is heating up with the expectation that President Joe Biden will formally announce his plans to seek reelection, critics are taking a closer look at Kamala Harris as his running mate.
A California native, Harris is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected vice president.
But a recent Boston Globe opinion piece made the case that choosing a new running mate may have a potential political upside for Democrats.
The op/ed points to Harris’ low approval ratings and having drawn headlines mostly for “disarray and dysfunction among her staff” as examples of how Harris could weigh down Biden at the polls.
“And in the arena of public policy and legislation, her achievements have been close to nonexistent,” the op/ed reads.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the latest national opinion polls show Americans largely disapprove of the job Harris is doing. The most recent Real Clear Politics average shows a similar unfavorable opinion.
In the Los Angeles Times tracking of the latest national opinion polls, Harris’ approval ratings began to decline around the time she was assigned to tackle the influx of immigrants attempting to cross the U.S. border, with unfavorable opinions surpassing favorable ones in June 2021.
Harris’ comments about immigration and the southern border also sparked controversy during a visit to Mexico and Guatemala.
On a recent episode of “Real Time,” host Bill Maher expressed his opinion that Harris might prove a sticking point when it comes to a 2024 re-election.
“It’s very hard to take the nomination away from the president,” Maher said. “What I could see is replacing the vice president because she’s not very popular anywhere. And it didn’t seem to work out.”
“I just think she’s a bad politician,” Maher continued.
Slate political writer Christina Cauterucci argues Harris has done little to distinguish herself, and pointed to her inability to think on her feet.
Voters “will also be less willing to forgive a candidate who can’t provide a clear, consistent message,” Cauterucci writes.
Donna Brazile, former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair, suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris will not be replaced on the 2024 ticket, according to the Fox News report.
Brazile even went as far as to suggest that if Biden decided not to run, Harris would become the next nominee of the Democratic Party.
“While her poll numbers may not reflect her true popularity, I can guarantee you Kamala Harris will not be replaced on the party’s ticket,” Brazile said. “And I can also guarantee you, if Joe Biden decides not to run, Kamala Harris will become the next nominee of the Democratic Party.”
This may just be the case as, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a majority of Democrats think one term is plenty for Biden.
The poll shows just 37% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, down from 52% in the weeks before last year’s midterm elections.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.