When we began planning our latest Times Opinion focus group, President Biden was still in the 2024 race but facing pressure to drop out. We wanted to explore how Democratic voters saw him as well as alternative candidates. By the time the group convened late last week, Biden was out and much of the party had coalesced around Vice President Kamala Harris, so much so that Democratic leaders had moved on to focusing on who her running mate might be. Almost all of the participants in our focus group had positive things to say about Harris: "composed," "enthusiastic" and "strong" were a few of the words they volunteered. A few women in the group found her "stern," which they saw as a good thing, while another participant praised her "grilling" of nominees before the Senate. The 14 members of the group almost unanimously agreed that Harris would have their votes in November. Still, they weren't without criticism: "I haven't been very happy with her anti-immigration position," said Tyler B., a professional coach from New Mexico. "I am Mexican, and I grew up in Mexico. And seeing her go and tell people, don't come here, after my ancestors got here and made me happen, that was really disappointing," he said, arguing that immigration and the border will be among the more difficult needles Harris must thread to appeal to many Democrats as well as to swing voters. "A lot of people don't really know much about Kamala Harris. You always heard Biden headlines," said Michael, a student from California. "But I cannot think of a single headline about Kamala." Where some saw a liability, others saw an asset: "No news is good news," said Mahesh, a software engineer from Massachusetts. "If she is under focus, there will be a lot of negativity if things don't go well. And that would have hurt now." July 2024 will go down as one of the most consequential months in modern American political history. Still, the group had fun with lighter questions we've asked previous focus groups when discussing other presidential candidates, now centered around Harris: If Kamala Harris were a car, what kind of model would she be? And another classic: If Kamala Harris had taken truth serum, what would you ask her? Here's what we're focusing on today:
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Keep a civil tongue.