Winning over ideology: Why progressives are lining up behind Harris so quickly

Progressives have swung behind Kamala Harris in surprisingly quick fashion in the 48 hours since Joe Biden left the presidential race, largely setting aside their past skepticism of the vice president with an eye to defeating Donald Trump in November.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is still notably withholding his endorsement until Harris reveals a working-class agenda. But instead of an array of litmus tests and demands for Harris and her 2024 platform, liberals are mostly clearing a path for Harris much as some tried to for Biden — desperate to project party unity, out of intense fears that Trump could win another term.

Even Sanders said Monday: “I want her to win.”

Within 30 hours of Biden’s decision to step aside, 90 percent of the House Democratic caucus had publicly backed Harris. That included unequivocal support from leading progressives like Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — though they cautioned it wasn’t the same thing as endorsing all of Harris’ positions and priorities.

“I would not interpret this as a rubber stamp with any policy or platform,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Rather, Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez see no choice but to back Harris if they want to beat Trump, given the now-rushed process to steer a new nominee leading up to the Democratic convention in August. The New York lawmaker had previously delivered impassioned defenses of Biden both publicly and privately, even as other Democrats in the caucus called for him to step aside.

“Really, this is about having as much stability as possible leading into the November election so that we can defeat the threat of Donald Trump,” Ocasio-Cortez said. While liberals would still press Harris on her platform through the election, she added there is a “very real understanding” that the convention is just a month away, with early voting in the general election beginning in less than two months.

Democrats have lined up a wide swath of the party behind Harris' nascent campaign. But the left wing falling in line is especially notable, as it could have been the most disruptive to the party's efforts to coalesce around Harris.

There is still a push to shape the vice president's platform. Sanders is choosing not to endorse yet as he seeks more meetings with Harris to push for a working-class agenda and to “speak to the needs of people who have been forgotten for so many years,” as he told CBS News Monday.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said the party’s quick alignment with Harris doesn’t mean progressives won’t be exerting pressure on her future administration if she is elected. But for now, Ramirez stressed, the goal “is to be able to win.”

She added that the stakes are simply too high — with someone who would “overthrow democracy, do mass deportations and enact a white supremacist agenda” — to stand in the way.

“We have to do everything we possibly can to get as many of us as quickly as possible together under one priority, and that’s defeating Donald Trump,” Ramirez argued.

Of course, there are some exceptions. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a member of the progressive “Squad,” has deep divisions with the White House over its handling of the Israel-Hamas war and hasn’t endorsed Harris. (She also had not endorsed Biden.)

Four years ago, many progressives did not initially back Biden or Harris, with their own candidates like Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the running. They were skeptical of Biden’s centrist tilt and Harris’ career as a prosecutor at a time when the base was moving to put more oversight on law enforcement. And even early in Biden's administration, progressives like Jayapal clashed with him over his legislative plans — particularly on a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Now, progressives have come to terms with their only real option. Uniting behind Harris, who has the name recognition and Biden’s war chest, gives them the best chance to beat Trump in November. They’ll worry about specific policy issues when they win, many of them say.

When and if that happens, the vice president has other existing relationships with Hill Democrats to draw on, including her former colleagues in the Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus, and what some South Asian American lawmakers had joked was the “samosa caucus.” Many Democrats have already shifted to privately and publicly discussing potential running mates for Harris.

“Why wouldn’t we?” said progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). “She supports the Green New Deal, Medicare for All. She cared about the care economy. She's been great.”