The case for Kamala Harris — and for a Republican VP

The vice president is well qualified. She was attorney general of the most populous state in the union, has several years’ experience as a successful senator and her time as vice president would be invaluable in equipping her to get off to a fast start as head of the executive branch.

Ms. Harris is in many respects the “natural” successor to President Biden and her nomination could avoid a contentious and messy open convention. Could one seriously consider ignoring Ms. Harris’s obvious claim to succeed Mr. Biden, without provoking immense anger among large segments of the Democratic voters?

Finally, among the very large number of voters who dislike both the current leading candidates as being too old, too White or both, Ms. Harris could be a very attractive alternative. And those who voted for Nikki Haley in the Republican primaries might find Ms. Harris an acceptable choice for them, too.

Arnold J. Clift, Brattleboro, Vt.

I’m a Democrat and a democrat and I’m ready to pull my hair out with all these primarily White and male politicians (most recently Rep. Adam Schiff,) and pundits calling for President Biden to drop out of the race without simultaneously endorsing Vice President Harris, especially since Mr. Biden tested positive for the coronavirus.

This fantastical mini- or blitz-primary idea subverts the will of the primary voters who voted for Mr. Biden — regardless of what polls might show they thought then or think now about the president’s age. Realists among us recognize that we voted for Mr. Biden and that means he’s our nominee. However, if we must entertain the idea of replacing him, I would like us all to recognize that voters also voted for Ms. Harris, by name, on the same ticket, with the same punched chad or fingertip to touch screen or old-fashioned black-ink-filled bubble. Any elected or campaigning Democrat should recognize that fact and endorse Ms. Harris in the same breath they used to call for Mr. Biden to drop out.

The American people voted four years ago, and the Democratic primary voters voted this year, for Ms. Harris to replace Mr. Biden should that be necessary. Anything else is skulduggery. It sidesteps not just one, but two choices made by the Democratic primary voters. My perception of this moment is that many of my fellow White Democrats want to skip over and ignore the first successful Black and Asian female vice president in this country’s history to put up someone who looks more like Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

I support the Democratic Party, the core of which is Black women. And fancy that: Our only plausible, legitimate replacement for Mr. Biden is also a Black woman. Likewise, I support our democracy and am committed to recognizing who among our citizens would be most harmed by a second Trump term. It’s not me, and it’s not the people ignoring Mr. Biden’s obvious replacement: It is the actual base of our party! Why are we always courting the wishy-washy, low-information voters instead of the people who brought us to the White House in the first place? Constitutionally, Ms. Harris would replace Mr. Biden if something were to happen to him between now and Jan. 20. It seems absurd to suggest that she is not our most viable, but our only, alternative to Mr. Biden.

Barbara Torrey Workman, Atascadero, Calif.

For unity

There have been instances where individuals who were affiliated with different parties formed a unity ticket or coalition. One notable example occurred in the 1864 presidential election during the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, chose Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, as his running mate. This decision was part of Lincoln’s strategy to promote national unity during a time of deep division.

We are divided today, as then. Why not a Democratic ticket with Vice President Harris (or a moderate Democrat) for president and a conscientious Republican such as Chris Christie, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger or Asa Hutchinson for vice president? We would get each of them working together with policy that makes sense for a majority of America, without the chaos of Donald Trump. The vice-presidential nominee’s followers and independents would swing the election for the country’s good.

Alan B. Scharf, Boynton Beach, Fla.

If Vice President Harris should become the Democratic nominee for president, the perfect running mate for her on the Democratic ticket would be former representative Liz Cheney. This choice would be historic because it would be not only bipartisan but also feature two women as a team for the first time. Ms. Cheney would bring to the ticket the most effective advocacy against a second Trump presidency that no other vice-presidential candidate could match.

The biggest weakness in our two-party system has been become its tribal nature. This keeps people from thinking independently and choosing the two best candidates for our highest offices. A Harris-Cheney ticket, if accepted, would energize segments of the electorate that have all but given up on being represented in this upcoming election. The threat to our democracy is very real with Donald Trump, and the Democratic Party needs the strongest crusader against Mr. Trump that they can muster.

That is Ms. Cheney.

Donald Collins, Washington

We suggest that the Democratic Party adopt a “Unite for Democracy” platform and nominate Kamala D. Harris for president and former Illinois Republican representative Adam Kinzinger (or another anti-Trump traditional conservative) as vice president.

As a former prosecutor and abortion rights advocate, Ms. Harris stands in stark contrast with Mr. Trump, given his criminal convictions, his support for attempts to overthrow the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of national security documents. She would also be able to stand strongly against the Supreme Court decision invalidating Roe v. Wade and upsetting the balance of power by creating broad presidential immunity.

Adding Mr. Kinzinger, or a similar politician, to a Unite for Democracy ticket will expand the coalition by placing commitment to the preservation of American democracy above all other partisan considerations. His national security credentials are impeccable, especially when viewed against the the isolationist and pro-authoritarian policies of Mr. Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance. All other policy positions (e.g., education, health care, national security, gun control) must be secondary to our commitment to preserve democracy and can be negotiated within the “big tent.”

We appreciate that adding a former Republican to the ticket might be seen as radical and run counter to party leaders and loyalists, but “out of the box” solutions are essential to building and fortifying a coalition to defend our democracy. Moreover, this innovative solution will generate a media frenzy, further energizing the campaign.

Let’s all “Unite for Democracy” and preserve the American Dream for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.

Robert A. Linett and Janice C. Linett, Burke

A message from above

I am a PBS-watching, NPR-listening, get-out-the-vote, door-knocking Democrat who has bled Biden blue for the last four years.

It is time for a change.

President Biden selected a brilliant running mate in Vice President Harris. Now is her moment.

Ms. Harris is a woman — who better to bring home Democrats’ strongest pro-choice arguments? Ms. Harris has nearly four years’ experience being “in the room where it happens” witnessing Mr. Biden work — who better to carry that work forward? Ms. Harris has the schedule to campaign endlessly without the daily demands of the being the president. Why not let her do that while Mr. Biden finishes the job? And most important, she has Mr. Biden’s imprimatur; he should not deny her now. Mr. Biden should given voters the opportunity to support the vice president.

Voters like me are not the voters the Democratic Party needs right now. The party has us and always will. Instead, Democrats need votes they aren’t getting: the votes of those who feel they have “no choice” but to vote for Donald Trump because they cannot imagine voting for the Democrat who showed up for the debate and demonstrated their greatest fears.

Democrats need the votes of the young people protesting the war in Gaza. Right or wrong, they will not vote for Mr. Biden — but they can be persuaded to vote for Ms. Harris.

Democrats need the votes of those who will come out to vote because they have been waiting their whole lives to vote for a Black woman for president.

And the party needs the votes of people who are just so weary of the current choices that they will not vote at all.

Mr. Biden has said if God Almighty came down from Heaven and asked him to step aside, he would do so. There are many paths to God. I think it’s time to take the Harris Path.

Carole Maslin, Bethesda