Laurel Elder, professor of political science at Hartwick College, studies gender in politics, women political candidates and women in elected office. Given President Biden’s decision to leave the race and endorse Vice President Harris, Elder offers some thoughts on issues related to her candidacy for the presidency.
Elder, who chairs the political science department at Hartwick College, is the author of The Partisan Gap: Why Democratic Women Get Elected But Republican Women Don’t, recipient of the 2022 American Political Science Association Best Book on Women and Politics Award and American Presidential Candidate Spouses. These two books and her other research and writing on these topics provide a solid platform for her assessments of a possible Harris presidential candidacy.
“Women of color have driven the remarkable success of Democratic women in elective office,” says Elder. “Women of color are also the most loyal supporters of Democratic candidates–and recent Democratic presidents including Joe Biden and Barack Obama owe their success to this group of voters,” she adds. “Given that, it makes sense that Kamala Harris may become the first women of color Democratic candidate for the presidency.”
On the topic of presidential spouses: “Presidential spouses have long played a key role in presidential elections helping to humanize their spouse and provide the public with insights into what the candidate is like as a person,” Elder says. “Kamala’s husband Doug Emhoff has proven to be particularly adept at this role…he holds the potential to be an asset in his wife’s possible campaign, and has the potential to transform American thinking about their image and the role of first ladies and first spouses.”
More information on Laurel Elder: https://www.laurelelder.com/
