Could the chance to elect the first female U.S. president energize voters? Yes, say some political experts and LI voters

The prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of a historic presidential ticket in November could energize voters and make abortion rights a galvanizing issue in a potential contest against former President Donald Trump, according to some political analysts and Long Island voters.

One day after President Joe Biden shook up the political universe by announcing he wouldn't seek a second term — while endorsing Harris as the party's standard-bearer — the vice president quickly began coalescing support Monday for an abbreviated presidential campaign, securing endorsements from a majority of top Democrats nationwide.

Harris, 59, who previously served as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and a one-term U.S. senator, has the potential to make history as the first woman to serve as country's commander in chief if elected. If nominated as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, she would be the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to head a major party’s presidential ticket.

'Exciting change'

Ayana McCalla, 23, a Democrat from Baldwin, said Monday that Harris' nomination would provide a boost of energy to the Democratic ticket — which has lagged since Biden's widely panned debate performance — and could redirect the national conversation toward reproductive rights.

"It’s exciting change," said McCalla, a postgraduate student. "It’s something that we’ve been trying to get going for over a few decades now. So why not?" 

Simone Fuller, 59, a registered Democrat from Hempstead, said she's confident Harris can utilize her personal narrative to drive key voting blocs to the ballot box.

"She will draw other people in," Fuller said. "Women? Yes. South Asians? Yes. Black women? Yes."

But Louis Marchione, 74, of Franklin Square, is skeptical.

"Nowadays, I don’t think that the ethnicity nor the race [of candidates] will affect the voting people," said Marchione, a retired state government information technology worker and registered Conservative, who thinks Harris ultimately will hurt the Democratic ticket.

Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said Monday that a voter sharing a gender and racial background with a candidate doesn't usually shift how that person votes in a general election, with a voter's political party often being the deciding factor.

"Most folks are either going to vote for the person of their party or not vote at all," said Dittmar, an associate professor of political science. “​​…Republicans aren't going to switch over and vote for Kamala Harris because she's a woman or because she's Black and South Asian."

But Dittmar added enthusiasm can grow when people identify with candidates from their own party, often ensuring they come out to vote, attend a rally or donate to a campaign.

Energizing the base

Boris Heersink, an associate political science professor at Fordham University, said Harris already has energized voters and could solidify support among Democratic voters of color, who make up a sizable chunk of the electorate in several swing states.

"If you look at the donations that have been coming in since yesterday, I think a lot of that is tied into the fact that Democratic voters are pretty happy with Harris as a replacement for Biden," Heersink said.

Ultimately, the decision of whether Harris becomes the party's nominee will be determined by roughly 4,000 Democratic delegates who will hold their nominating convention in Chicago next month.

A host of state delegations, including Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, already have pledged to back Harris' candidacy. Members of New York's delegation are expected to hold a call Monday night to discuss whether to support Harris, a Democratic Party official said.

Michael Dawidziak, a Bohemia-based political consultant who works primarily with Republicans, said a closed-door process for elevating Harris as the party's nominee could diminish excitement among voters for the vice president, turning some off and handing Trump a ready-made talking point.

Trump, he said, could tell voters: "'I was fairly elected to represent my party . . . This person was picked in the backroom.’"

Harris also must craft a strategy for defending the Biden administration's record on immigration and inflation — two key issues in which polls show Republicans have a large advantage when it comes to voter approval, Dawidziak said.

Nicole Derespiris, 54, a registered Republican from South Hempstead, said Monday she thinks Harris will be unable to make a successful case to voters, citing the vice president's actions on immigration and border security.

"I'm scared for our country and I really hope that Trump does win," Derespiris said.

Abortion front and center

Mike Weil, 69, a East Meadow resident who is listed in records as a registered Republican, said the departure of Biden, 81, from the race amounts to addition by subtraction, removing the 46th president's age and mental acuity from the conversation.

"Two old white guys . . . Maybe it’s time for a change," Weil, a retired pension consultant for a transit workers union, said of Biden and Trump. "I think a younger woman is good for the Democrats."

While Harris' gender, age and race may animate some Democratic voters, experts said reproductive rights remain the party's most potent issue, particularly in the wake of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The 1973 ruling had provided a constitutional right to have an abortion and its reversal left the legality of abortion up to each state.

Harris, an unflinching supporter of abortion rights, is the right messenger to make the case that the nation's highest court went too far, said Lauren Corcoran-Doolin, an independent political consultant from Bellmore who served as a Biden delegate and a Hillary Clinton delegate.

"This year has always been about women and making sure that we send the message in New York State, here on Long Island and throughout America that we will not allow our rights to be rolled back for our daughters and granddaughters," said Corcoran-Doolin, the vice chairwoman of the Nassau County Democratic Party.

 Laura Goetz, 66, a registered Democrat from Islip, said Monday she would vote for Harris, who she hopes would work toward reversing the Supreme Court's 2022 decision on abortion.

"She's all for women's rights," Goetz, who left the Republican Party when Trump first ran for President in 2016, said of Harris.  

Peggy Lamon, 65, a registered Democrat from Bay Shore who supports Harris, said abortion rights will play a critical role in determining the next occupant of the White House.

"Women’s rights are just going backward in this country," Lamon said. "I worry about my granddaughters."