Ghany: Kamala did not lose US election because of gender

UWI (University of the West Indies) political scientist Prof Hamid Ghany has disagreed with the view that US Vice-President Kamala Harris lost the November 5 presidential election because she is a woman.

Ghany attributed former president Donald Trump's victory and Harris' defeat in that election to a plethora of other factors which need to be analysed going forward.

He made the comments during a UWI virtual forum on the results, reactions and repercussions of the election on November 14.

Ghany told his fellow panelists that his last check of the election results showed Trump won 312 electoral college votes to Harris' 226.

On election day, in a US presidential election, voters go to the polling place and cast their vote for their preferred candidate.

These votes go to a state-wide tally, with the winning candidate winning all that state's electoral votes.

In most cases, a projected winner is announced on election night after voting has ended.

Unlike many other countries, where the president or prime minister is chosen by direct popular vote, in the US a candidate may win

the popular vote and still not be elected president.

The actual result of the election is determined when the Electoral College vote takes place in mid-December, when the electors, whose votes were won by the respective candidates on election night, meet in their states to vote for a winner.

A candidate needs the vote of at least 270 electors in the college – more than half of all electors – to win the election.

The meeting of the college is scheduled for December 17.

Once the college completes its work, the Congress meets on January 6 to count the electoral votes and certify the winner of the election.

After this happens, Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th US president on January 20 at the US Capitol building in Washington, DC.

Ghany noted views which claimed that Harris lost the election because the US was not ready for its first female president.

He said this was a view he strongly disagreed with.

Ghany added the evidence was there in the US presidential election in 2016 when then Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton won the popular vote.

In that election, Clinton won the popular vote with 65,844,610 votes to Trump's 62,979,636 votes.

Unfortunately, Ghany continued, that did not translate into a victory then for Clinton because Trump got more electoral votes, defeating her 304-207.

He said Clinton's ability to win the popular vote suggested there were Americans who supported the idea of a female president.

Ghany added there were other factors which allowed Trump to win and Harris to lose.

He identified Harris' loss of support among black and Latino voters compared to Trump gaining support with these voters and Harris being seen more as an incumbent and not a new candidate, among the reasons.

Ghany said Trump had been able to change the Republicans from the "country club" party of the privileged few to a party which broadened its support base.

He added that a phenomenon called "the browning of America" needs to be studied in terms of how it affected the election.

Ghany said the phenomenon involved the influx of Latino/Hispanic people into the US and the majority of these people are "God-fearing Christians."

He believed the election results showed most Americans were not happy with the existing status quo.

Ghany said, "This was a change election."

UWI Mona Campus political and social psychology Prof Christopher Charles identified the failure of the Democrats to treat with concerns voters had about immigration and the economy as two reasons why Harris lost the election.

Former Barbados senator Kristina Hinds said the election was not a runaway victory for Trump with, approximately 63 million voters supporting Harris while 76 million supported him.

She added this showed there were deep political visions in the US and the Democrats needed to do some serious introspection now that the election is over.