Vice President Kamala Harris’s entry into the US presidential race is mobilizing Democrats and giving new impetus to the candidacies of the party’s congressmen and senators.

The day after Kamala Harris entered the race for the White House, Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee’s campaign office in Michigan saw 650 people sign up to volunteer.

The following night in Nevada, Rep. Steven Horsford registered another 600 volunteers in his district in the Las Vegas area.

Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean’s constituents were enthusiastic, and New Hampshire Rep. Annie Kuster was equally enthusiastic.

By the end of the week, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s team had 400 volunteers ready to campaign for Democrats in the neighboring states of Michigan and Wisconsin.

Weeks of despair among Democratic lawmakers that Biden would not only lose the White House but drag congressional candidates down with him were wiped out in an instant.

The static inertia of the 2024 campaign was transforming into kinetic political energy after Harris took charge of the party, shocked the establishment and shook up the race against Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Kamala Harris holds debut campaign rally with recycled speech

The congressional campaign committees for House and Senate Democrats reported a Record of one million dollars (around 900 thousand euros) per day for online donations.

Kamala Harris surpasses the support needed to secure the nomination. Campaign raised $100 million in one day

The change of course, just over 100 days before the elections, rekindles the party’s hopes of regaining the House of Representatives (lost to the Republicans) and fighting to maintain its majority in the Senate.

Rather than being seen simply as a last line of defense against Trump, the potential for broader Democratic victories is emerging, despite Republican claims that Harris’s momentum is one that may not last.

The House of Representatives, in particular, is reeling from the chaotic unfolding of events.

The party’s angst over Biden’s ability to defeat Trump became public after his disastrous debate performance cast doubt on his age, 81, and his ability to serve another term.

Joe Biden is ousted and Kamala Harris is endorsed. But it is not certain that the vice president can beat Trump, or even that she is the Democratic candidate.

Now, Harris’s candidacy is changing sentiment: For some, the energy and enthusiasm they are witnessing is reminiscent of 2008, when a young U.S. senator, Barack Obama, launched his unlikely bid for the White House with a new coalition of Democrats, fueled in part by young people.

“It’s going to be historic.” Michele and Barack Obama support Kamala Harris

Republicans redefine strategy and believe in a “short-term honeymoon”

Republicans leading in polls in the House and Senate are rushing to redefine the presidential race. looking for a new strategy to combat Harris.

GOP strategists believe Harris’ sudden surge in support will fade, and Republicans like the prospect of replacing an aging candidate with a “San Francisco liberal,” a reference to the vice president’s political hometown.

“This whole brief Harris honeymoon is over,” said Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

“Age was the problem for Biden. The problem for Kamala Harris will be her far-left policies“Daines said.

Jack Pandol, a spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, said House Democrats are aligning themselves with Harris’ “radical agenda to remake America in the image of San Francisco” and risk losing power.

The dynamics are being tested in real time as lawmakers in competitive seats watch the political terrain beneath them shake in the presidential race.

“We saw a difference overnight in every aspect of my campaign,” said Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan of New York, who was among three dozen Democrats in Congress who publicly called on Biden to approve the testimony.

According to Ryan, fundraising, grassroots support and volunteer energy have skyrocketed since the handover of the baton to Harris.

Not all Democrats in Congress, however, wanted Biden to end his campaign for a second term.

Not all Democrats in Congress supported Biden’s withdrawal from the campaign

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, a member of an influential party caucus, said she was concerned by calls for Biden to step aside after all she said he did as president.

In particular, Some lawmakers feared Harris would be drawn into the fight without adequate party support. or simply overlooked, as House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi and other leading Democrats initially called for an open primary if Biden were to be replaced.

But once Biden decided it was “in the best interest of the party and the country” to end his candidacy, even some of those most resistant to change welcomed the result.

“He supported a woman, a black woman, and that brought everyone together to a new kind of possibility that could happen in this country,” Waters said.