Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Indianapolis Wednesday to attend a conference organized by the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, one of the country’s largest historically Black sororities.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority announced Harris' appearance at its Grand Boulé earlier this month, before President Joe Biden’s Sunday announcement backing out of the 2024 Presidential race and endorsing her as the Democratic Party nominee for president.
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Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s announcement said Harris planned to attend “to discuss what this administration has done to improve the lives of all Americans as well as the investments being made in the historically under-served communities our members serve.”
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Fabio Rojas, a sociology professor and department chair at Indiana University said Harris’ current position is significant and could help her win the Democratic nomination for president.
“Incumbency is huge in politics,” he said. “If you're the current mayor, there's a really good chance you're going to be the next mayor. And if you can't be the incumbent, being the number two in command is the next best thing.”
Rojas said election tides won't shift dramatically, should Harris run as the Democratic party nominee.
He added Harris, the first woman, first Black person, and first Asian American to serve as vice president, energizes the party’s base.
“I think a lot of people would be excited about that,” he said. “But for the average voter, maybe less so, because we're living in a very polarized age. Most people know if they're Democrat or Republican. They know if they're progressive or conservative.”
Rojas said Harris’ policies on immigration are a likely point of focus in the coming months. During Biden’s administration, Harris supported policies to increase funding for new border security agents.
“I think that may actually help with some of these middle of the road voters, because voters tend to be very suspicious of immigration, they tend to be a little skeptical,” Rojas said. “Trump likes to attack the Democratic party, saying that they're unusually lax or unregulated in regard to immigration.”
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But Rojas said Harris is likely to point out her track record supporting border security.
“That's exactly the kind of thing that gets you suburban voters and some of these more middle of the road voters.”
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, will also be in Indiana Wednesday for a fundraising event in Fort Wayne.
Rojas said Harris is unlikely to win electoral seats in Indiana, and will have to make up those seats in other Midwestern states.
