Taking on Biden, Kamala Harris Makes Her Mark

Sen. Kamala Harris proved she can command a debate stage by confronting former Vice President Joe Biden over questions of racial equality in a strong performance that could boost her standing in the crowded Democratic nomination contest.

Heading into the second of two debates this week in Miami, most expected Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to be Mr. Biden’s top tormentor. Instead, it was a fiery Ms. Harris who displayed her skills Thursday as a former prosecutor in challenging the front-runner.

The Harris-Biden exchange was the most dramatic during four hours of debate that featured 20 of the 24 candidates competing for the nomination. The sessions also made clear the Democratic Party has moved significantly to the left since Mr. Biden’s tenure in office ended.

On health care, taxes, climate change, immigration and gun control the majority of those in the debates called for ambitious and potentially costly programs often rooted in greater government involvement. It’s an approach more aggressive than the one espoused by the past two Democratic presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Sen. Kamala Harris speaks during the debate on Thursday. PHOTO: SAUL LOEB/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
The shift is raising questions about whether the more moderate Mr. Biden is a good fit for a party where the most energy is on the far left. In the debate, he largely managed to avoid the sort of missteps and unforced errors that have tripped him up on the campaign trail in recent weeks—but his exchange with Ms. Harris left a mark.

Ms. Harris, a former California attorney general and local prosecutor who is black, went out of her way to confront Mr. Biden and generate a high-profile moment for herself. She labeled as “hurtful” statements he had recently made about working in Washington with two now-deceased segregationist senators.

“It’s a mischaracterizations of my position across the board,” Mr. Biden responded. “I did not praise racists. That is not true.”