It’s a new ball game is a phrase used by baseball announcers when a team that has been far behind rallies to come close or tie their opponent.

That phrase can also be used to describe the presidential race because of President Biden’s decision to not seek re-election.

Here’s why I feel that way.

• Mr. Trump has never been a popular candidate. Even when he defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 he lost the popular vote by almost 3 million. And when he was defeated by President Biden in 2020 he lost the popular vote by 7 million. 

• Even with all the negative publicity about President Biden’s mental capacity, Mr. Trump, while leading in polls, never opened a substantial Electoral College margin, despite Mr. Biden polling as one of the most unpopular candidates in history.

Here’s how the political ball game has changed:

• Between now and the Democratic Party convention, the media will be focused on who will be Kamala Harris’ vice-presidential selection. 

• After the ticket is chosen the media will be focused on how the new Democratic Party presidential team will campaign with only three months left before Election Day, limiting the coverage of the Trump-Vance ticket.

• Because the Democratic ticket will certainly include Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate, it will give added life to the abortion issue and will also bring back to the Democratic line a substantial number of Black and Latino voters who have been trending toward Mr. Trump.

• With a woman on the Democratic ticket, given Mr. Trump’s and Mr. Vance's history on abortion rights, it will be difficult for the all male GOP ticket to attract female voters.

• The GOP attack line that President Biden is both mentally deficient and too old to be president is now moot. Instead, Mr. Trump is now the old and often confused man, as the Democrats are sure to point out.

• Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance have a record of denigrating remarks about women. Mr. Vance has already had to defend his remarks several times since he became the vice-presidential candidate. Democrats will surely make Mr. Trump’s and Mr. Vance’s remarks about women part of their attack points, keeping it in the news throughout the campaign and forcing Republicans to defend them.

• The more Mr. Trump is attacked, the nastier he becomes. Ms. Harris, a seasoned prosecutor, will be able to reply to Mr. Trump with specific facts without losing her cool, a skill she sharpened when she was a prosecutor. History shows that this will make Mr. Trump furious and make his remarks nastier. But she should limit responding to Mr. Trump’s attacks and talk about the future; surrogates can reply to the attacks on Ms. Harris.

The Advice For People In Our Business

It's the best kept secret in the PR business; the one management doesn’t talk about when recruiting new hires from communication schools: Agency life is full of people who are out for themselves. That’s because there are many brass rings, but only few gold ones.

Even though Kamala Harris received overwhelming support from Democrats when President Biden stepped down, many potential governors and senators who publicly supported her were privately disappointed because they weren’t given the chance to win the gold ring. If they had publicly expressed their disappointment, they would have lost their chance for future advancement in the Democratic Party.

Employees at PR agencies should never openly express disappointment if they are passed over for advancement. If you do, you will be considered a troublemaker and a non - team player, ending your chance for future advancement and placed on the "firing list," when layoffs are needed.  What you should do is prepare a detailed letter to top management explaining why you believe you have helped the agency more than others who have been promoted (much like candidates for the vice-president slot had to prepare a document for the vetting committee). Include specific examples. The response you get from management will let you know if you have a future at the agency – or not.