Kamala Harris’s Stock Is Overvalued

We find ourselves deep into the irrational-exuberance phase of Kamala Harris’s surprise ascension to her role as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. All of five full days have elapsed since Joe Biden was dragged unwillingly to the conclusion most Americans came to well over a year ago. Already, Harris’s political star is said by her allies to have eclipsed even Barack Obama’s.

“I covered the Clinton campaign, the Women’s March, the anti-Trump resistance, the wave of women in the 2018 midterms,” TIME Magazine correspondent Charlotte Alter asserted, “and the momentum for Harris over the last five days is basically like all of that rolled together.” MSNBC’s Cornell Belcher agreed. Not only has Democratic fundraising exploded since Biden withdrew from the race, but the “organic” outpouring of online enthusiasm is like nothing he has seen since 2008. “This could be bigger than ’08,” former RNC chairman Michael Steel replied. He later added that Harris’s performance over the last 120 hours suggests that the era of the prolonged campaign is over. “We can do this in a very short timeframe,” he insisted. “Because Kamala Harris is doing it.”

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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We find ourselves deep into the irrational-exuberance phase of Kamala Harris’s surprise ascension to her role as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. All of five full days have elapsed since Joe Biden was dragged unwillingly to the conclusion most Americans came to well over a year ago. Already, Harris’s political star is said by her allies to have eclipsed even Barack Obama’s.

“I covered the Clinton campaign, the Women’s March, the anti-Trump resistance, the wave of women in the 2018 midterms,” TIME Magazine correspondent Charlotte Alter asserted, “and the momentum for Harris over the last five days is basically like all of that rolled together.” MSNBC’s Cornell Belcher agreed. Not only has Democratic fundraising exploded since Biden withdrew from the race, but the “organic” outpouring of online enthusiasm is like nothing he has seen since 2008. “This could be bigger than ’08,” former RNC chairman Michael Steel replied. He later added that Harris’s performance over the last 120 hours suggests that the era of the prolonged campaign is over. “We can do this in a very short timeframe,” he insisted. “Because Kamala Harris is doing it.”

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.