REPORT: Harris Campaign Stumbling, Senator ‘Trying to Reset’

Peter D'Abrosca

May 8, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks to members of the media at her alma mater, Howard University, Monday, Jan. 21, 2019 in Washington, following her announcement earlier in the morning that she will run for president. Harris, a first-term senator and former California attorney general known for her rigorous questioning of President Donald Trump’s nominees, entered the Democratic presidential race on Monday. Vowing to “bring our voices together,” Harris would be the first woman to hold the presidency and the second African-American if she succeeds. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

A Wednesday New York Times report detailed ongoing struggles within the presidential campaign of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).

“Ms. Harris is under pressure from liberal activists who are pushing Democrats toward newer, bolder horizons,” according to the report. “She has repeatedly sought to placate the left since setting her sights on the presidency — an impulse many in her orbit say is reinforced by her campaign chair, Maya Harris, her sister.”

In The Times’ view, “liberal” equates to “far-left.” While some in her campaign and in the Democratic Party reportedly want Harris to push further left, others want her to remain squarely center-left, in the wheelhouse of the establishment Democrats. This has posed a challenge for Harris, who has walked back her original support for policy proposals like Medicare For All and allowing prisoners to vote.

“These tensions, along with Ms. Harris’s instinct for caution, have slowed her candidacy,” the report said.

It also noted that while Harris’ campaign tries to figure out what exactly it message is, she has turned her focus to attacking President Donald J. Trump, perhaps the only uniter of the warring factions of the Democratic Party.

The Times said:

Ms. Harris sidestepped a question from The New York Times about her pivot toward Mr. Trump — “I’m running against President Trump because I think he should not be president,” she said — but her spokeswoman said the senator is eager to “prosecute the case’’ against Mr. Trump, invoking a phrase Ms. Harris has used intermittently.

“Going forward she is actively going to do that,” said Lily Adams, the spokeswoman.

As of Wednesdays, nearly every major Democratic Party primary poll has Harris in fourth place. Just above her is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Both trail Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who trails former Vice President Joe Biden by a whopping 20-30 points, depending on the poll.

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