Senator Kamala Harris, of California, has become a rising star in Democratic Party circles. She just recently headlined a fundraiser in the Hamptons where many donors came away convinced she would be running for President in 2020.
The Hill reports on Harris’ up-and-coming status as a Senator within the party:
The Bridgehampton event, where Harris mingled with top donors and supporters of Hillary Clinton, was the ultimate signal that Harris is “thinking much bigger” than the Senate, one top bundler said.
“She’s running for president. Take it to the bank,” another fundraiser said. “She’s absolutely going to run.”
Donors say Harris is giving them a glimmer of hope when they need it the most.They see the former prosecutor-turned-California attorney general as embodying the qualities a Democratic presidential candidate would need to win the White House in 2020.
They also see the 52-year-old African-American woman as a fresh face.
“There’s a big hunger out there for somebody new and different,” said Bill Carrick, a Democratic consultant who served as an adviser to former Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), who challenged Harris in last year’s senatorial race.
“People are looking for champions. … She’s in that category. There are people who might not know her real well but want to like her. What little they know, they like.”
Since November, Harris has become one of her party’s biggest draws: She has raised upwards of $600,000 for Senate candidates in recent months, and she recently raised $227,000 in an email for MoveOn.Org, according to sources close to Harris.
Her fans see her as an antidote to Donald Trump and as a candidate who could feed off the so-called resistance to the Republican president.
Democrats need a bench of fresh faces to challenge President Trump in 2020, and Harris fits the bill nicely. She is much younger than the average age of the 2016 Democratic field, and also carries none of the baggage associated with the Clintons.
Some very early polls show that Harris would, at minimum, start the race in a dead heat with Trump:
A new poll released Public Policy Polling projects that five different potential Democratic 2020 challengers would defeat incumbent President Donald Trump, but at varying margins of victory.
-Former Vice President Joe Biden defeats Trump 54 percent to 39 percent
-Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders defeats Trump 52 percent to 39 percent
-Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren defeats Trump 49 percent to 42 percent
-New Jersey Senator Cory Booker defeats Trump 45 percent to 40 percent
-California Senator Kamala Harris defeats Trump 41 percent to 40 percent
The poll’s margin for error is 3.4 percentage points, meaning that Harris is the only Democrat whose victory is within the margin of error.
I suspect Harris suffers for lack of name recognition since every other name on that list has had more national exposure. She’s a star within progressive circles from her time during the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings when she was twice shushed by Republican senators:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UfVtk6AOMs
Harris has been added to our list of possible 2020 Democratic Candidates.
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