How Kamala Harris Is Trying to Claim the Mantle of Change

The fight over whether Kamala Harris can represent change has emerged as one of the early thematic battlegrounds of the 2024 race, playing out both at this week’s Democratic convention in Chicago and on the airwaves of swing states.

With chants of “we’re not going back” ringing through a convention hall and her campaign’s “A New Way Forward” slogan plastered outside, the vice president is making a bold bid to position the same Democratic Party that now holds the White House as bringing a fresh start to the country.

The battle over the mantle of change is especially significant at a moment when polls show a sizable majority of Americans are unhappy with the state of the nation’s affairs.

Former President Donald J. Trump had established a clear edge as the candidate who would upend the status quo when he was still facing President Biden. He was the insurgent; Mr. Biden was the incumbent. But now Ms. Harris, a 59-year-old who would make history as the first female president, has altered the dynamics of a contest that had previously pitted two men seeking to break the record of the oldest president.

The desire for change has been a constant of modern American politics.Barack Obama promised“change you can believe in.” Bill Clinton sold the nation on “change versus more of the same.” And Mr. Trump pledged to break with eight years of Democratic rule and “Make America Great Again” in 2016.

For nearly a decade, Mr. Trump’s bulldozing approach has been premised on the idea that the nation was staring into an abyss and only urgent upheaval could save the country. The question for Ms. Harris is whether she can frame Democrats keeping power in 2024 as a break from that dark and divisive era.