Few issues have proved as divisive for the Democratic Party this election season as the Israel-Hamas war. Pro-Palestinian advocates took note of Harris’s early emphasis on humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Now that Biden has stepped aside, the advocates say they are closely watching Harris to see if she will distance herself from the president’s Gaza policy and lay out a vision of her own.
Biden’s staunch backing of Israel, despite concerns over high civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, had imperiled his re-election campaign amid backlash from Democratic constituencies such as progressives, Muslim and Arab-Americans, young voters and Black voters. Some White House and campaign aides privately voiced concern in recent months that voters disillusioned with the war would sit out or vote for a third-party candidate, putting battleground states such as Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania at risk.
Behind the scenes, Harris has been a forceful and early advocate for a cease-fire and for putting more pressure on Israel over humanitarian conditions in Gaza, according to some administration officials. She has expressed particular concern, in both public and private, about the widespread starvation that has gripped the enclave.
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