CHICAGO — Doubts surrounded Vice President Kamala Harris two months ago when Democrats, stunned by President Biden’s shaky performance during a debate against former President Trump, started to panic about November.
Harris was clearly the most logical choice to replace an aging Biden at the top of the ticket. But her run as vice president had not always been sparkling, and many Democrats privately wondered if the party would be better off with an open competition at its convention to pick a successor to Biden.
“Let’s not forget, amid all the pomp and circumstance at the convention, that very few people thought she could actually do well,” said one Democratic bundler, recalling conversations just more than a month ago about the possibility of an open convention.
“No one I spoke to a month ago felt that way. People thought, well, at least she’s not old and she’ll be able to put two sentences together,” the bundler said.
The doubts about Harris largely have been left in the trash-can after a head spinning month that has seen her energize her party, narrow a polling gap with Trump — at times taking the lead—........