So far, shortened campaign timeline is working for Kamala Harris

WASHINGTON (TND) — Entering the presidential race less than four months before Election Day put Vice President Kamala Harris in a position no other candidate in modern history has been in and as of now, it appears to be working in her favor.

Less than two weeks ago, the presidential race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump was expected to be decided in large part by "double haters," voters who weren't happy with either candidate. A CNN-SSRS poll conducted in late June found they made up 18% of voters.

“People were looking for a breath of fresh air and the Harris candidacy seems to be providing that," said Dan Lamb, a senior lecturer at Cornell University.

If Harris is victorious in November, her shortened timeline could have future presidential candidates rethinking the formula for running a campaign.

"I think we’re tired of campaigns that last some 500 days and it’s been something that you know, in the last 40 or 50 years we’ve seen," Lamb said. "These election cycles start too early and that’s another reason why we have double haters, because people are just sick and tired of these long, long campaigns," Lamb said.

Harris replacing Biden threw many Republicans for a loop just days after they gathered in Milwaukee to energize their party around a "fire Joe" message they spent years preparing.

"After the Republican convention, was a bit of a shock that caught a lot of Republicans by blindside," former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox News.

Since her first rally, two days after Biden left the race, Harris has emphasized how much work is ahead of her. During a private fundraiser on Wednesday, she told donors, "We are the underdogs in this race."

Unlike any other candidate who would start a presidential bid this late in the game, Harris has avoided a massive organizing hurdle by inheriting the Biden-Harris campaign apparatus. She also didn't have to face off against other Democrats in a last-minute primary. Republicans have criticized this as a "coronation," while Democrats called it proof of party unity.

Within its first week, the Harris campaign registered 170,000 new volunteers and raised $200 million, most of which came from first-time contributors, according to the campaign. Massive Zoom calls like "White Dudes for Harris" have brought in millions more.

“For a lot of Democrats who were starting to feel pretty discouraged about the fall election, it was a breath of fresh air. And that’s why we’re seeing this increased fundraising, increased grassroots-level support and I think it’s showing a certain amount of momentum in her favor," Lamb said.

Harris faces a remarkably tight calendar: Because of Ohio's early ballot deadline, the Democratic National Committee's virtual delegate roll call will go from Thursday to Monday evening; Harris will hold her first rally with her to-be-announced running mate in Philadelphia on Tuesday, kicking off a five-day swing state blitz; nine days later, the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago; and a couple weeks after Labor Day, some states begin early voting as early as Sept. 20.

“I think we’ll be unpacking this election cycle for years," Lamb said. "And maybe it will rewrite the book on how we schedule elections because voters seem to be responding to what has happened here by happenstance.”