Kamala Harris needs to turn her political fortunes around in quicktime

The pressure is on Vice President Kamala Harris to turn around her political fortunes and win the Democratic Party’s nomination, analysts say, after U.S. President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race.

With just over 100 days until the presidential election in November, Harris now has to win over not only Democratic delegates, donors and secure an official nomination by the party, but also — and most crucially — her detractors and undecided voters.

“This is not a smooth road ahead for Democrats. Donald Trump and [running mate, Sen.] JD Vance are a very strong ticket that clearly appeal to a large segment of America, but I think Kamala Harris can give them a good run for their money,” Lew Lukens, senior partner at Signum Global Advisors, told CNBC Monday.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy for Kamala Harris … but I do think we have to give her the opportunity to be the candidate,” he noted.

“The vice presidential role, by its very definition, is very much behind the scenes, playing second fiddle to the president. Now she’s suddenly been thrust into the spotlight [as the person] who will most likely be the [Democratic] nominee, so it’s a very new role for her and we’ll have to see if she grows into that role,” Lukens told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”

Harris is the first woman, and the first Black and Asian-American person, to serve as vice president in the U.S., with her background boosting her appeal among some sections of the electorate.

Still, the similarity between Harris’ and Biden’s poll ratings suggests that, even if she wins the Democratic presidential nomination, she will need to convince voters she offers something different to Biden.

“As a woman, an African-American and Asian woman, she has attributes that will work in various kinds of constituencies, plus the fact she’s much younger and they’re hoping that will have an effect. But there are very, very much deeper questions which had alienated a lot of Democratic voters … [and] a lot of people were not committed,” Inderjeet Parmar, professor of International Politics at City, University of London, told CNBC Monday.

Parmar added that, if nominated, Harris will have to convince voters that she has something “significantly different” to offer than Biden put forward in his campaign.

Harris’ performance as vice president is widely judged to have been underwhelming, although analysts acknowledge the 59-year-old former senator from California was given something of a poisoned chalice early in her tenure when she was handed the difficult brief of tackling illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Her prominence in the public sphere appeared to decline early in Biden’s presidency as she became a frequent target for Republicans and the right-wing media. Despite her stance on racial equality, gun…