Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign
The 2020 presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, a United States senator from California from January 2017 to 2021, officially began on January 21, 2019, with an announcement on Good Morning America.[4] Harris had widely been considered a "high profile" candidate for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries since 2016.[5][6][7][8][9]
Kamala Harris for the People
- Kamala Harris U.S. Senator from California (2017–2021)
- Attorney General of California (2011–2017)
- District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco (2004–2011)
Suspended; became running mate on August 11, 2020
January 21, 2019
January 27, 2019
December 3, 2019[1]
- Baltimore, Maryland (national)
- Oakland, California (West Coast)
- Maya Harris (campaign chair)[2]
- Juan Rodriguez (campaign manager)[2]
US$40,884,095.73[3] (12/31/2019)
For the People
Citing a lack of funds, Harris officially withdrew her candidacy on December 3, 2019.[1][10]
On March 8, 2020, Harris endorsed former vice president Joe Biden.[11] Harris was chosen by Biden to be his running mate on August 11, 2020.[12] Biden and Harris would go on to win the general election and she would become the first female vice president of the United States.[13]
Background[edit]
Following the election of Donald Trump in November 2016, Harris was named as part of the "Hell-No Caucus" by Politico in 2018, along with Senators Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, given she voted "overwhelmingly to thwart [Trump's] nominees for administration jobs", such as with Rex Tillerson, Betsy DeVos and Mike Pompeo; all the Senators in this group were considered potential 2020 presidential contenders at this point in time.[14] Prior to announcing her candidacy, she had publicly stated that she was "not ruling it out".[15] In December 2018, Harris announced that she planned on considering whether to run for president "over the holiday".[16][17][18] The following month, it was confirmed that Harris was expected to make an official announcement around Martin Luther King Jr. Day regarding the 2020 election.[19]
Harris was the sixth office-holding Democrat to formally announce a campaign in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, joining Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, former Maryland Congressman John Delaney, former West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.[20]
Prior to and during her presidential campaign an online informal grouping using the hashtag #KHive formed to support her candidacy and defend her from racist and sexist attacks.[21][22][23][24] Joy Reid first used the term in August 2017 in a tweet saying "@DrJasonJohnson @ZerlinaMaxwell and I had a meeting and decided it's called the K-Hive."[25]
Campaign[edit]
Announcement[edit]
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 21, 2019, Harris announced on Good Morning America that she would be seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Her campaign headquarters were in Baltimore, Maryland, with a second office in Oakland, California.[2] Her campaign slogan, "For the People", is the phrase she used to formally announce her appearances as a prosecutor in the California superior courts[26] as implicitly required by California law.[27]
Within twenty-four hours of the announcement, Harris's campaign received over $1.5 million in donations from about 38,000 individuals across all fifty states, with the average donation being $37.[28][29][30][31] At the time, this record amount tied with the one set by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2016 election.[32]
An overflow crowd of over 20,000 attended her formal campaign kickoff event at Frank Ogawa Plaza in her hometown of Oakland, California, on January 27.[33][34] Numerous commentators noted that there were more attendees at Harris's kickoff event than Barack Obama's first presidential campaign kickoff in Springfield, Illinois, in 2007.[35]
1st Quarter[edit]
On January 28, Harris introduced herself as a 2020 presidential candidate in a CNN town hall at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.[36]
In the first quarter of her campaign, Harris announced the endorsements of five members of the California delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives – Ted Lieu, Katie Hill, and Nanette Barragan on January 28, Barbara Lee on February 14, and Julia Brownley on February 27.[37][38][39] Continuing her early show of force from her home state, Harris also secured the endorsement of the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom,[40] along with five statewide officials from California – Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara[41] She also secured the endorsements from three-quarters of the Democratic delegation in the California State Senate,[42] along with endorsements from the mayors of California cities San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, and Compton.[43] Harris also secured the support of former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and Latina labor rights activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, Dolores Huerta[44][45]
Harris came under criticism when, in February 2019, she immediately believed the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax while the affair had already been strongly questioned by the Chicage Police Department. She called it a "modern-day lynching" and used it to push for the adoption of a law co-sponsored by her. The incident later turned out to be staged, and Harris had to walk back her comments. The Daily Beast asserted this was representative of her supposed "habit of making flip comments, and tending to latch on to narratives that confirm her preferred political worldview".[46][47]
In March, Harris headlined a fundraiser from high-profile Hollywood donors at the home of American filmmaker J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath. Co-chairs for the event included various other high-level studio executives, actors, writers, and directors, including Ari Emanuel, Donna Langley, Shonda Rhimes, and Ron Meyer.
[48] Harris reported raising $12 million from more than 218,000 individual contributions in the first quarter.[49]
Suspension[edit]
On November 27, Harris spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Des Moines, IA with fellow candidates Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker. She attended the Turkey Trot downtown and visited the Corinthian Gardens apartment, where Harris campaigned for President Barack Obama in 2008. Harris cooked a dry brined turkey herself.[119]
On November 29, The New York Times published an article detailing rifts in the Harris campaign, with "competing factions eager to belittle one another" loyal to either campaign manager Juan Rodriguez or campaign chair Maya Harris. Other staffers told the Times that it was "unclear who's in charge of the campaign". The article described the campaign's financial situation as "dire", with the campaign unable to afford polling or television advertisements, and quoted staffers and supporters who described Harris as an indecisive candidate.[120]
On December 3, 2019, Harris officially ended her campaign to become the Democratic nominee for president, after stating she did not have enough funding to continue.[10] She did not immediately endorse another Democratic candidate, but pledged to continue fighting to defeat Donald Trump.[121] Trump sent a sarcastic farewell tweet – "too bad, we will miss you Kamala!" – to which Harris replied: "Don't worry, Mr. President. I'll see you at your trial."[122]
On December 7, Politico reported that Harris had intended to replace Rodriguez as campaign manager with Laphonza Butler, but Harris ended her campaign before the change was made.[123]
