Kamala Harris’s Coronation

To the vocal prowess of Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” Kamala Harris walked onto the stage in Wisconsin on July 23, 2024. “I am told, as of this morning, that we have earned the support of enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination,” she beamed to a crowd that cheered “Ka-ma-la, Ka-ma-la, Ka-ma-la.”

Since President Joe Biden, who has been a fixture in American politics for half a century, bowed out of the presidential race, hearts that bleed blue have sung out for the Vice President. In just over a day, the Harris campaign raised a record-shattering $100 million (and counting). 

The internet entered its coconut era, with Harris memes flooding social feeds and fans praising the Vice President as “mother.” But not long ago (five years, to be exact), Harris’s campaign fizzled before the Iowa Caucus, a testing ground to gauge early support. So why is this time so different?