Democratic strategist James Carville famously coined the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid,” to explain Bill Clinton’s successful bid against incumbent George H.W. Bush in the 1992 Presidential Campaign. Since then, political analysts and commentators have frequently cited this phrase to dissect presidential elections, including the 2024 election. However, this time, their analyses have been misguided. If the 1992 election was about the economy, the 2024 election was unequivocally about racism and misogyny.
Pundits have offered countless explanations for why Democrats lost in 2024. Some blame the party for being “too woke,” others critique its messaging, and still more argue that Democrats have alienated the working class by becoming a party of elites. Few mainstream commentators, however, have addressed the pervasive racism and misogyny faced by Vice President Kamala Harris and their significant role in her defeat.
Misogyny
Malcolm X once said, "The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman." The 2024 election only reinforced this reality. Vice President Kamala Harris was handed the Herculean task of reviving a faltering campaign in just 100 days—a task made all the more challenging by systemic racial and gender biases. Despite an impressive effort marked by broad economic policies, tireless campaigning, and a successful fundraising push that raised a billion dollars, Harris was still judged far more harshly than her opponent, Donald Trump, who campaigned with a platform steeped in racism, misogyny and xenophobia.
From the start, detractors sought to discredit Harris. They dismissed her prior achievements and electoral victories with baseless claims that she “slept her way to the top.” Unlike her male predecessors, Harris faced relentless scrutiny over her accomplishments as Vice President. While she chose to avoid focusing on the historic nature of her candidacy and instead ran an issue-driven campaign, it was never enough to escape the double standards.
Harris was expected to walk on water while nothing was expected of Donald Trump. As CNN commentator Van Jones aptly put it, “[they were] not taking the same exam… [Trump] gets to be lawless. [Harris] has to be flawless.” It should come as no surprise that a nation built on white male privilege would choose a mediocre white man—convicted of multiple felonies and civilly liable for sexual assault—over a well-qualified Black woman. To dismiss the role of misogyny in Harris’s defeat is to ignore an undeniable truth.
Racism
Racism was another critical factor in the 2024 election. While misogyny may have played a greater role in Harris’s loss due to its prevalence across ethnicities, racism was nevertheless a significant barrier. To fully analyze the campaign, one must examine the deep-seated historical forces that have long marginalized women and treated Black Americans as second-class citizens.
Critics have accused Harris of running a “woke” campaign focused too much on race—a term that has become a thinly veiled code for “Black.” Ironically, Harris did not run a racially charged campaign; if anything, she refrained from leaning into her identity and instead prioritized broader issues. One could argue she might have been more successful had she championed the Voting Rights Act’s renewal, the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and staunch advocacy for LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights.
It was Donald Trump who consistently weaponized race, casting doubt on Harris’s ethnicity and promising to erase Black history. He targeted transgender individuals, vilified immigrants, and leaned heavily on identity politics to stoke white resentment. Yet, when white politicians court white voters with racially and xenophobically charged rhetoric, it is often dismissed as business as usual.
The assertion that Democrats, including Harris, ignored the working class is rooted in a narrow, racialized definition of “working class.” Black people make up significant portions of the working class, and Harris won the Black vote decisively. She also secured 47% of votes from Americans earning $50,000 or less annually. Trump, meanwhile, offered no meaningful solutions to everyday struggles but promised to return to an era of white male dominance. Calls for Harris and Democrats to appeal more to the “working class” are ultimately calls for a pivot toward whiteness—abandoning marginalized groups and upholding a racist patriarchy.
Harris’s loss was not due to a gaffe on The View or her absence from the Joe Rogan Experience. It wasn’t because of a lack of policy proposals—policies scarcely mattered this election. She lost because she was a Black woman. This nation was never ready to elect a Black woman president, regardless of her qualifications. Many voters preferred to embrace a candidate they likened to “Hitler” rather than support Harris. That’s the real story: It’s the racism and misogyny, stupid.
Pundits have offered countless explanations for why Democrats lost in 2024. Some blame the party for being “too woke,” others critique its messaging, and still more argue that Democrats have alienated the working class by becoming a party of elites. Few mainstream commentators, however, have addressed the pervasive racism and misogyny faced by Vice President Kamala Harris and their significant role in her defeat.
Misogyny
Malcolm X once said, "The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman." The 2024 election only reinforced this reality. Vice President Kamala Harris was handed the Herculean task of reviving a faltering campaign in just 100 days—a task made all the more challenging by systemic racial and gender biases. Despite an impressive effort marked by broad economic policies, tireless campaigning, and a successful fundraising push that raised a billion dollars, Harris was still judged far more harshly than her opponent, Donald Trump, who campaigned with a platform steeped in racism, misogyny and xenophobia.
From the start, detractors sought to discredit Harris. They dismissed her prior achievements and electoral victories with baseless claims that she “slept her way to the top.” Unlike her male predecessors, Harris faced relentless scrutiny over her accomplishments as Vice President. While she chose to avoid focusing on the historic nature of her candidacy and instead ran an issue-driven campaign, it was never enough to escape the double standards.
Harris was expected to walk on water while nothing was expected of Donald Trump. As CNN commentator Van Jones aptly put it, “[they were] not taking the same exam… [Trump] gets to be lawless. [Harris] has to be flawless.” It should come as no surprise that a nation built on white male privilege would choose a mediocre white man—convicted of multiple felonies and civilly liable for sexual assault—over a well-qualified Black woman. To dismiss the role of misogyny in Harris’s defeat is to ignore an undeniable truth.
Racism
Racism was another critical factor in the 2024 election. While misogyny may have played a greater role in Harris’s loss due to its prevalence across ethnicities, racism was nevertheless a significant barrier. To fully analyze the campaign, one must examine the deep-seated historical forces that have long marginalized women and treated Black Americans as second-class citizens.
Critics have accused Harris of running a “woke” campaign focused too much on race—a term that has become a thinly veiled code for “Black.” Ironically, Harris did not run a racially charged campaign; if anything, she refrained from leaning into her identity and instead prioritized broader issues. One could argue she might have been more successful had she championed the Voting Rights Act’s renewal, the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and staunch advocacy for LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights.
It was Donald Trump who consistently weaponized race, casting doubt on Harris’s ethnicity and promising to erase Black history. He targeted transgender individuals, vilified immigrants, and leaned heavily on identity politics to stoke white resentment. Yet, when white politicians court white voters with racially and xenophobically charged rhetoric, it is often dismissed as business as usual.
The assertion that Democrats, including Harris, ignored the working class is rooted in a narrow, racialized definition of “working class.” Black people make up significant portions of the working class, and Harris won the Black vote decisively. She also secured 47% of votes from Americans earning $50,000 or less annually. Trump, meanwhile, offered no meaningful solutions to everyday struggles but promised to return to an era of white male dominance. Calls for Harris and Democrats to appeal more to the “working class” are ultimately calls for a pivot toward whiteness—abandoning marginalized groups and upholding a racist patriarchy.
Harris’s loss was not due to a gaffe on The View or her absence from the Joe Rogan Experience. It wasn’t because of a lack of policy proposals—policies scarcely mattered this election. She lost because she was a Black woman. This nation was never ready to elect a Black woman president, regardless of her qualifications. Many voters preferred to embrace a candidate they likened to “Hitler” rather than support Harris. That’s the real story: It’s the racism and misogyny, stupid.
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