After promising start, Kamala Harris looks for ways to break through
| San Francisco
Kamala Harris has always been a trailblazer. As the daughter of immigrant parents 鈥� her mother came from India and her father from Jamaica 鈥� she was the first woman elected (twice) as California鈥檚 attorney general, and the second African American woman elected to the United States Senate, which she entered two years ago. From the moment she got there, the chattering classes began speculating about White House ambitions.
Those lofty expectations seemed justified when she launched her presidential campaign in Oakland, California, in January, drawing an enormous crowd of about 20,000 people. She鈥檚 since brought in some big endorsements, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and an impressive fundraising haul.
What Senator Harris hasn鈥檛 been able to do of late is break past 10% in national polls.
Why We Wrote This
In the massive 2020 field, candidates like California Sen. Kamala Harris are struggling to differentiate themselves and gain traction. The upcoming debates could shake things up 鈥� or not.
The California senator鈥檚 struggle to gain momentum reflects the unwieldy nature of this historically large Democratic field. With 24 hopefuls traipsing around the early voting states and giving back-to-back speeches at cattle calls like the recent Democratic Hall of Fame dinner in Iowa and the party convention in California, making an impression 鈥� even for the most promising contenders 鈥撎齣s proving to be a real challenge.
Senator Harris has also been faulted for 鈥減andering鈥� to the left and appearing overly cautious on the trail. In a field with relatively few big policy differences between them, observers say it鈥檚 vital for candidates to communicate core beliefs and a clear sense of identity. But ultimately, for many Democratic voters, it all may come down to the same bottom line: Who can beat President Donald Trump?
鈥淵ou have to have a message that resonates,鈥� says听Dianne Bystrom, a longtime observer of presidential campaigns and women in politics.
鈥淪he鈥檚 got great communication skills,鈥� Dr. Bystrom says of Senator Harris, but听鈥淚 don鈥檛 think she鈥檚 as specific about her message as [Massachusetts Sen.] Elizabeth Warren is.鈥� She adds that Senator Harris needs to 鈥渇urther define herself.鈥�
Second, but not first
Of course, it鈥檚 early yet, and the upcoming debates 鈥� the first of which will take place at the end of this month 鈥� could offer many second- or third-tier candidates a chance to break out of the pack. Former Vice President Joe Biden is widely regarded as a weak front-runner, and most political observers believe the landscape could shift substantially before Democratic voters start casting ballots early next year.
Jim Messina, former President Barack Obama鈥檚 campaign manager, famously commented on MSNBC in听April that if Senator Harris were a stock, he鈥檇 鈥渂uy her鈥� 鈥� in other words, seeing a future rise as a good bet.听
In Iowa, the latest Des Moines Register/CNN poll has Senator Harris听well behind Vice President Biden, as well as behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Senator Warren, and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.听Yet it also found her tied with Senator Warren as the top听second听choice of Iowa Democrats. Heading into the caucuses, that can be a sign of hidden strength.听听
Still, being voters鈥� second choice is not the same as being their first choice.
At the听recent听California Democratic convention in San Francisco, James Smith, a firefighter from Long Beach, says Senator Harris is 鈥済reat鈥� but 鈥渘ot for 2020.鈥� He鈥檚 standing behind the International Association of Firefighters endorsement of Vice President Biden. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a friend of labor,鈥� says Mr. Smith. 鈥淛oe鈥檚 our guy.鈥�
Alex N煤帽ez, of Mountain View, raves about Senator Harris鈥� performance interrogating Attorney General William Barr at a Senate hearing last month, an exchange that went viral on social media.听As a former prosecutor,听鈥渟he has a unique skill set,鈥� he says. But he doesn鈥檛 envision her as president 鈥� more like a future attorney general who might someday prosecute President Trump.
鈥淪he鈥檚 forceful,鈥� agrees Roberta, a retiree from New York who says she does not want her last name used for fear of becoming the target of a Trump tweet. Coming out of an event for Senator Sanders in Pasadena, California, she says she鈥檚 a fan of Senator Harris and finds her 鈥渧ery believable.鈥� Still, she can鈥檛 commit to backing her. 鈥淚鈥檓 in a quandary.听I don鈥檛 know who to vote for.鈥�
Crisp and on point
Senator Harris connects well in person and on camera. At a recent campaign swing through California, she hugged, sashayed, and smiled her way through events, continually throwing the praise back at her supporters 鈥� whether they were immigrant activists or union members. Her delivery is crisp and on point.
When a man jumped onstage at a MoveOn forum in San Francisco and grabbed the microphone from her, the former district attorney kept her cool, calmly walking away as others 鈥� including her husband 鈥� hustled the man offstage.
In her stump speeches, she focuses on pocketbook and equality issues, particularly for women and women of color. She proposes a monthly tax credit of $500 for families earning less than $100,000 a year; a big boost for teacher salaries; and equal pay for women 鈥� with companies on the hook to prove they comply or else pay a fine.
Yet having detailed policy positions is not the same as having a message, warns Bill Carrick, a Democratic strategist in Los Angeles. 鈥淭he message has to be part of who you are, what you stand for, what you believe in, what your values are.鈥�
Mr. Carrick describes the revolutionary Senator Sanders as a 鈥渃lassic stand-up-for-the-little-guy, a lefty, with policy underneath it all.鈥� Similarly, Senator Warren has the 鈥渢otal package鈥� 鈥� someone who belongs in the hall of fame of policy wonks in her fight against corporations and who is also emotionally driven by this fight.
Former Vice President Biden is another strong persona, 鈥渟omebody who can bring us together, get things done, and most importantly, win.鈥�
When asked about Senator Harris, Mr. Carrick pauses. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what her message actually is. And that鈥檚 really a challenge.鈥�
Lately, she has been trying some new approaches. At the California Democratic convention, she leaned much more into an anti-Trump message, built around a series of 鈥渢ruths鈥� about President Trump鈥檚 鈥渓ies鈥� and calling for the start of impeachment proceedings.
At the Iowa dinner last weekend, she furthered this line of attack 鈥� emphasizing her prosecutorial chops and portraying President Trump as having 鈥渄efrauded鈥� the American people when it comes to health care, taxes, and national security.听
鈥淚 am prepared to make the case for America and to prosecute the case against Donald Trump,鈥� the former district attorney said.
Recalibrating her pitch
The rhetorical shift may be in response to critics who鈥檝e been arguing she ought to present herself as a pragmatist. Her main competitor in the race is not Senator Sanders, these critics say, but Vice President Biden.听They argue that she made a serious error in pandering听to the left, pulled there in part by her sister, Maya Harris, her progressive campaign chairwoman.听
Senator Harris has supported liberal causes such as Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and the decriminalization of sex work, and she has indicated an openness to reparations for slavery, as well as having a 鈥渃onversation鈥� about voting rights for violent felons. In several cases, she鈥檚 later had to walk back her comments or try to clarify.
It is a pattern similar to her record on some issues in California, when she changed positions on the death penalty and stepped back from her controversial policy to punish parents for their children鈥檚 truancy, which resulted in a few parents going to jail.
David Axelrod, a former top adviser to President Obama, has criticized Senator Harris for being overly cautious in answering questions 鈥� trying to have things both ways. He told the Los Angeles Times that 鈥渟he鈥檚 a brilliant person,鈥� but 鈥渨hat we鈥檝e learned so far is that she鈥檚 great at asking questions but timid at answering them.鈥�
Senator Harris鈥� fans are fervent in their support, and say she is facing strong winds of sexism and racism 鈥� a point that Dr. Bystrom, who鈥檚 now retired from Iowa State University in Ames, also makes. After Hillary Clinton lost to President Trump in the Electoral College, the possibility of losing again is making some Democrats 鈥渧ery nervous鈥� about nominating a woman, and a woman of color, Dr. Bystrom believes.听
鈥淚 think Kamala Harris will compete well. But a lot will depend on whether Democrats think it鈥檚 less risky to nominate an old white guy instead of a younger woman of color,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think it may come down to that.鈥�
