Within a few hours of the resignation of Joe Biden in the face of Vice President Kamala Harris, a large percentage of Democrats rallied.

Now the clock is ticking down with around 100 days to go before the November election and the tight timetable will magnify any mistakes that the Kamala Harrisbut at the same time it will minimize the chances of mistakes.

The circumstances could not be more different, Politico reports in its analysis. One president was nearly assassinated and the other president reluctantly resigned from re-election and ended his career. However, the reaction from each party was the same: jubilation.

When former President Donald Trump, bleeding from a bullet wound to his ear, raised his fist and urged his supporters to “fight back” a week ago Saturday, Republicans felt the power of history — and, they hope , of fate. Rallying around their leader, whom they see as nothing more than a martyr, Republican voters went from alarm to outrage to joy.

On Sunday, in the hours after President Biden finally withdrew his nomination, Democrats felt they were moving into a new era as the overwhelming majority believed he was too old for office. The emotions were optimism and excitement.

After a month of managing a partisan crisis, Democrats went from relief to hope and finally to certainty: Vice President Kamala Harris was the person with the credentials to lead the effort and avoid conflict.

The events of this week in July, however, also show how the rest of the election season will play out.

Trump, having narrowly avoided death and trying to regain power against a woman, will project himself as the strongman who can restore order to a country that at this juncture remains open to the old regime.

Democrats are almost certain to present Harris as Trump’s formidable opponent. With a unified party and an opportunity to rally disillusioned constituencies, Harris will remind voters that Trump is a representative of chaos and extremism.

If Harris can unify her party, pick a strong running mate and take advantage of the lead and the convention, she will increase her chances of defeating Donald Trump.

Trump almost certainly won’t be able to resist invoking Harris’ race and gender. Yet while many Americans judge identity politics, many more will reject race and misogyny.

Gender will inevitably be part of the campaign as even some otherwise enthusiastic Democrats are skeptical that the nation’s first female president will be a California liberal of Jamaican and Indian descent.

Since Roe v Wade was overturned two years ago, Democrats have gained voters and now have someone in charge who can speak in personal terms about an issue that concerns voters.

“The fact that she is a candidate able and willing to say the word ‘abortion’ should not be underestimated,” said Caitlin Legacki, a veteran of the Democratic campaign, no doubt alluding to Biden’s reluctance to raise the issue.

Democrats will also have to fend off charges on inflation and immigration, which Trump campaign chairman Chris LaCivita said last week in Milwaukee are Democrats’ weak spots.

How Harris manages her candidacy — and no one can say for sure what ideological direction she will take, given her past prowess — will partly determine her and the Democrats’ fate.