Opinion: Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer could make a winning ticket for Democrats

Editor’s Note: Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst, is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author and editor of 25 books, including the forthcoming book, “Our Nation at Risk: Election Integrity as a National Security Issue.” Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

If President Joe Biden decides to withdraw from the election, Democrats need not fear — they have a ticket in front of them that can still defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Not only would a ticket with Kamala Harris as president and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as her running mate have the best odds of getting the party through this moment of crisis, but also the potential to excite voters and produce a historic outcome. To be sure, there are serious risks. At the same time, this could present an exciting opportunity for Democrats.

This combination would satisfy the axiom put forth by the brilliant Democratic strategist David Axelrod in 2016, when he explained why Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. While he was referring to open-seat presidential elections, the wisdom still applies: “Voters rarely seek the replica of what they have. They almost always seek the remedy, the candidate who has the personal qualities the public finds lacking in the departing executive.”

Should Biden step aside, a presidential candidate who is Black, Asian American and decades younger may provide the change voters are craving. The two-woman ticket would create a stark contrast with Trump; while the former president would represent more of the same, Harris and Whitmer would offer a fresh vision of what America is all about.

A Harris-Whitmer campaign could also deal the ultimate blow to a Republican campaign that has revolved around strength defined by toxic masculinity. But this ticket would be more than symbolic. Both Harris and Whitmer have been passionate and effective champions of what could be the defining issue in 2024: reproductive rights. Polls have shown strong national support for legal abortion. Harris and Whitmer would be convincing foils to Trump, who has repeatedly taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade by nominating three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

While Trump has struggled with suburban women, who were crucial organizers, canvassers, mobilizers and voters in 2018, 2020 and 2022, Harris and Whitmer would have more than enough time to tap into this pool of electoral strength and make sure that they come out in droves.

Harris and Whitmer also offer experience and stability in governing. Harris has served as attorney general of California, US senator, and vice president. Whitmer has been a successful and popular governor in a crucial swing state. Both are serious policy wonks. Few challenge their chops when it comes to being interested in the nuts and bolts of governance. The Harris-Whitmer ticket would symbolize order in contrast to Trumpian chaos, replicating some of the promise of Biden’s campaign in 2020, with an added dose of youth.

Both women are in their fifties, and Gen Xers (though some categorize Harris as a Baby Boomer). With Republicans making old age an issue, a Harris-Whitmer ticket turns that argument against Trump, who at 78 has shown struggles with syntax and memory. Instead, Democrats would have a president and vice president who are in their primes, generating some of the energy that Bill Clinton and his VP Al Gore brought in their 1992 campaign against President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle.

Then there is the benefit of continuity. With Harris running for president, the Democrats can still boast about the policy accomplishments of the Biden administration, from infrastructure to investment in semiconductors. The transition from Biden to Harris would also be a natural one that would make it easier to build on the enormous campaign funds that the Democrats have already raised. Regardless, once a ticket like this is solidified, campaign funding should not pose a major issue.

Finally, both Harris and Whitmer were once prosecutors, and their ticket would create a ready-made television spot: the law-and-order prosecutors versus the convicted felon. Trump’s criminal indictments and other legal problems have shaped much of his narrative, even as he has tried to use them to his advantage. If he were to run against Harris and Whitmer, he would be facing off against two women who were devoted to making sure that the law triumphed over the lawbreakers. In addition, both Harris and Whitmer could use their laser-like prosecutorial skills to combat Trump’s endless exaggerations, false claims, and disinformation. Unlike Biden at the debate, they would not be tied up in knots by Trump’s barrage of falsehoods.

While there are legitimate concerns about whether Harris can generate the kind of electoral excitement that would be needed to defeat Trump, the charismatic ticket would offer just what the party needs. This would shift the conversation away from a party scrambling in the final months before the election to one that could move the nation forward.

It remains to be seen whether Biden decides to stay the course. If he steps aside, there is more than enough time for the party to offer an option that could defeat Trump and invigorate voters in the process.

In 1980, then-Republican nominee Ronald Reagan famously asked voters, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” In 2024, the question should be: “What is the United States all about?” With this ticket, voters would have to think hard about what they want to tell the country and the world. Do Harris and Whitmer reflect our values, or does Donald Trump?