More than a month after President Joe Biden endorsed Kamala Harris to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket, rendering her the de facto presidential nominee, the vice president has finally agreed to sit for her first-ever interview as the ostensible leader and future of the party. The press will likely pat itself on the back, citing CNN’s announcement that Dana Bash nabbed the top prize as evidence that the media has not merely returned to its 3 1/2-year sabbatical. But it’s Harris here who is having the last laugh.

By the time she sits with Bash, she will have been coronated as Biden’s hand-picked successor for a full 39 days. Early voting ballots in the swing state of North Carolina will be mailed out just eight days after Thursday’s interview, and early voting in the must-win lynchpin state of Pennsylvania commences just ten days after that.