WASHINGTON — The day after Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race for the White House, Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee’s Michigan campaign office saw 650 people sign up to volunteer.
The next night in Nevada, Rep. Steven Horsford had another 600 volunteers register in his Las Vegas-area district. Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean’s constituents were “fired up.” New Hampshire Rep. Annie Kuster felt “palpable” enthusiasm. And by week’s end, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s team had 400 volunteers ready to “get on the bus” to campaign for Democrats in neighboring Michigan and Wisconsin.
“There’s a renewed enthusiasm within the Democratic Party for our candidate at the top of the ticket,” said Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, who had been among Democrats calling for President Joe Biden to step aside.
Weeks of despair among Democratic lawmakers that Biden would not only lose the White House but take congressional candidates down with him disappeared in a blink. The 2024 campaign’s static inertia was transforming into kinetic political energy after Harris shook up the race against Republican Donald Trump.
Women, young people and voters of color started suddenly flocking to the Democratic campaigns. The congressional campaign committees for the House and Senate Democrats reported record-setting $1 million days for online donations, among the highest in history. Lawmakers said people showed up without prompting, asking what they could do to help.
The turnaround, just over 100 days from the election, revives the party’s hope of winning back the House and fighting to hold its Senate majority. Rather than simply being seen as a last line of defense against Trump and the Project 2025 agenda, the potential for broader Democratic wins is coming into view, despite Republican assertions that the Harris boost is a blip that won’t last.
Harris’ rise quelled, for now, the party revolt that had thrown Democrats into weeks of anxiety.
“We’re sort of right on the cusp of both existential dread and excitement for making history,” said freshman Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico.
The House in particular has been reeling from the chaotic turn of events. The party angst over Biden’s ability to lead the ticket spilled into the open after his disastrous debate performance called into question his age, 81, and his ability to serve another term.
Lloyd Doggett of Texas, the first Democratic lawmaker to call for Biden to withdraw from the race, said, “I think we were on a path to lose this election, and now we have a fighting chance to win it.”
