President Joe Biden chose Harris as his successor right after announcing that he was withdrawing from the Democratic party nomination for a second four-year term in the White House. Since then, mainstream Democratic leaders, including former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have rallied to Harris' support.
Nevertheless, Harris' current wave of popularity, which has given her a small thought from the overwhelming boost in national opinion polls, will not last beyond the convention in Chicago, financial columnist and former merchant banker Martin Hutchinson said.
"This honeymoon can carry her to the convention - not beyond," Hutchinson said. "Her honeymoon will last till after the Democratic convention."
Hutchinson pointed out that while Harris has national experience as vice president, her real policies and priorities had yet to be exposed to public scrutiny and success in the race would also depend on whom she chose as her vice-presidential running mate.
"Thing to watch is whether she picks a sensible vice president. [Pennsylvania Governor Josh] Shapiro, [Kansas Governor Laura] Kelly, or [North Carolina Governor Roy] Cooper are her best choices, but the Financial Times wants her to pick [Secretary of Transportation Pete] Buttigieg, which would reinforce everyone's negative view of her," Hutchinson said.
While Harris' skill as a direct debater might make her a formidable opponent for Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump, her appeal would likely diminish during the prime campaigning season of September and October, Hutchinson said.
"I think Trump's chances remain good though not overwhelming, as air in Harris will slowly deflate in September/October," Hutchinson added.
California State University Emeritus Professor of Political Affairs Beau Grosscup agreed that Harris was currently benefiting from a wave of adulation that would not last. "Honeymoons are notoriously short. It's what the word means," Grosscup said.
Nevertheless, Harris brought significant strengths to the Democratic ticket that the aging and obviously infirm Biden had clearly lacked, Grosscup said.
"Her prospects against Trump are good. She has solved the age/dementia issue - pointing now to Trump. She should re-rally women/independents on the Dobbs decision [regarding abortion] as Biden left that issue to her," Grosscup said.
Harris Facing Major Issue With US Economy
The US political landscape unpredictability notwithstanding, Harris's past record made the flubs and embarrassments inevitable throughout her presidential campaign, Political analyst Charles Ortel said.
"Harris is a remarkably undistinguished 'public servant' whose track record and policy inclinations are both rash and juvenile," Ortel said.
Harris's many allies in the established media would do their best to promote her through the Democratic convention, Ortel added.
US constitutional historian and political commentator Dan Lazare recommended election watchers not be misled by the relatively restrained and polite tone of the Harris and Trump campaigns so far.
"With something like a hundred days to the election, the process is just getting underway," Lazare said.
"The Harris campaign is indeed in the honeymoon stage, and how much longer it lasts - a few days, a few weeks - is impossible to say. But we can be sure that it will end by some point, and that's when the real mud wrestling will begin."
Both candidates had yet to reveal their strategies and opening moves but none of the general adulatory coverage of Harris so far had dared to point out the very real drawbacks she suffered from in her professional record, he said.
"Kamala has got a lot of baggage - her law-and-order prosecutor years that are a guaranteed turn-off for liberals, her political shallowness, her demeanor, and that god-awful laugh," Lazare said.
Lazare noted that a major issue for Harris and for most Americans is the US economy.
"This a real problem for Harris since if she runs on Bidenomics, she will incur the wrath of all who have been hurt by inflation, that is the entire working-class population, while if she runs away from Bidenomics, she'll come off as a disloyal opportunist. She's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't," Lazare added.