Harris finally gets chance to hit the road for a change
SACRAMENTO >> Kamala Harris told a friendly crowd of Hollywood donors Thursday they’d be surprised by how many states she’s visiting daily, if only virtually.
Earlier in the week, she’d campaigned before supporters in Minnesota, California and Connecticut, and she was greeting Missouri donors next.
Harris hasn’t been on a plane in more than a month. Three weeks after joining Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the California senator still is campaigning largely in front of a computer screen to relatively small audiences.
That’s about to change. On Monday, Harris will travel to Milwaukee on her first traditional campaign trip. Biden’s campaign hasn’t yet said what she plans to do in the critical swing state. Her trip to Wisconsin comes after Biden visited Kenosha this past week to meet with the family of Jacob Blake, who was shot by police, and talk to the community about racial justice and protests in the city.
The coronavirus pandemic has radically altered campaigning for Democrats, who, unlike Republicans, are largely avoiding in-person gatherings and organizing digitally.
For Harris, that so far has meant a mix of fundraising and organizing events, along with local press interviews and one speech aimed at President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. Leaning into her role as the first Black woman on a major party’s presidential ticket, Harris has spoken with Black leaders and activists in events that aren’t open to the press, but she did not travel with Biden to
Kenosha.
“She’s been on the road. She’s out herself,” Biden said Friday. “I talk with her almost every day. I speak with her and we work together and I have every confidence in her. There’s nothing about not campaigning together, it’s about being able to cover more territory.”
Harris, who has not had a wide-ranging news conference since joining the ticket, was making her first solo Sunday show appearance as the nominee, a taped interview with CNN’S “State of the Union.”
According to an excerpt released Saturday, Harris would not say directly whether she would get a coronavirus vaccine if one were ready before Election Day. She also suggested public health experts will be “muzzled” from having the last word about a vaccine’s effectiveness.
“I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he’s talking about,” she said.
Democratic observers say Harris is so far complementing Biden in a way that’s expected for a running mate. It’s the role of the vice presidential nominee to boost the presidential candidate’s agenda, as Harris has done, and reach out to constituencies that may not be as natural for the nominee, said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who ran communications for Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016.
Vice President Mike Pence, for example, was chosen in part to help boost Trump’s support among evangelical voters, a key Republican constituency not originally seen as natural Trump allies. Harris, meanwhile, counters the 77-yearold Biden as a 55-year-old Black woman.
“They have similar values, but she also has had a different experience,” Finney said.
In private events over the past two weeks, Harris has met with Black leaders and activists to thank them for their support and motivate them as the campaign enters the final stretch. Last Saturday, Harris staged one with Black women leaders who had urged Biden to choose a Black woman as his running mate and another with Black men, said Donna Brazile, a former head of the Democratic National Committee, who was on the first call, where singer Bebe Winans serenaded Harris with his song “Born for This.”
“We had a wonderful time just showering her with powerful energy for the battles ahead,” Brazile said.
Brazile said it will be important for Harris to get out for non-virtual events “where she can actually see the pulse of people,” but she said the digital organizing has created strong enthusiasm.