OPINION: Kamala Harris Didn’t Lose Because of Racism or Sexism—She Lost Because She Was Out of Touch with Voters

Let’s get something straight: Kamala Harris didn’t lose the 2024 presidential election because she was a woman. Or because she was Black. She lost because she didn’t connect. Period.

In his appearance on The View, former President Joe Biden tried to frame Harris’s defeat as the result of a nation that “wasn’t ready” for a woman of color to lead. But the truth is much simpler—and more uncomfortable for Democrats to admit.

Kamala Harris lost because she was unrelatable, uninspiring, and unconvincing to the very voters Democrats needed to win.

The Swing Voter Truth: You Can’t Ignore the Middle and Win

There’s a romantic idea on the left that demographics will eventually deliver victory. But elections aren’t won in theory—they’re won in real precincts, by real people, in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona.

And here’s the reality: Harris failed to win over swing voters—suburban independents, working-class centrists, and moderate Black and Latino voters—because they didn’t buy what she was selling.

No matter how historic her identity may have been, it didn’t translate into a sense of trust, strength, or economic vision that resonated with everyday Americans.

Biden’s Excuse-Making Is a Distraction from Political Reality

Joe Biden told The View, “They went the sexist route… I’ve never seen quite as successful and consistent a campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn’t lead the country.”

But that’s not analysis. That’s spin.

There wasn’t some grand conspiracy to keep Harris down. In fact, the media, Hollywood, academia, and Big Tech overwhelmingly supported her candidacy. If anything, she benefited from one of the most favorable institutional ecosystems any candidate could ask for.

But what she didn’t have? The ability to inspire confidence in undecided voters. Her speeches felt robotic. Her campaign avoided unscripted moments. And her record—on the border, on inflation, on foreign policy—didn’t inspire a coalition beyond the progressive base.

Identity Isn’t a Substitute for Leadership

It’s not enough to “look like America”—you have to lead America. And that means meeting voters where they are, not lecturing them about what they should believe.

Kamala Harris’s campaign leaned too heavily on identity politics and too lightly on tangible policies that would move the needle for working families. Her team focused on cultural messaging while everyday voters worried about grocery bills, crime, education, and the cost of living.

Swing-state voters didn’t reject Harris because she’s a woman of color. They rejected her because they didn’t see leadership, clarity, or backbone when it counted.

Democrats Keep Misreading the Room

Time and time again, Democrats have convinced themselves that America’s problems are rooted in bigotry. And while racism and sexism do exist, they are not the sole lens through which every political outcome should be viewed.

In fact, constantly attributing loss to “the country not being ready” is an elitist way of dismissing legitimate concerns from everyday people who want competence—not symbolism.

Harris failed to present a clear plan to curb inflation. She danced around the border crisis. She refused to take meaningful positions on crime, school choice, or foreign policy. And when she did speak, her word salad interviews and vague rhetoric didn’t help her case.

Voters didn’t see her as a victim of injustice. They saw her as a candidate who didn’t earn their trust.

Final Word: Harris Didn’t Lose to Hate—She Lost to Reality

Kamala Harris didn’t lose because she was a woman. She didn’t lose because she was Black. She lost because she didn’t connect with the voters she needed to win.

Elections are about building coalitions. About inspiring people who don’t already agree with you. Harris’s campaign never figured that out. Instead, they tried to ride the wave of identity and leaned on a media echo chamber that assumed victory was inevitable.

It wasn’t. And the people made that clear.

So instead of blaming racism and sexism, maybe Democrats should look in the mirror and realize that a message of cultural elitism and identity-first politics doesn’t win elections. Results do.