Kamala Harris Dismisses Festering Campaign Troubles

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is dismissing reports of mounting struggles within her campaign, telling reporters over the weekend that her campaign has done “great work which has gotten us to the point where we are today,” even though she has been unable garner significant Democrat support in recent months.

Reports bubbled over the weekend of a Harris campaign in total disarray, with many of her staffers calling for her campaign manager, Juan Rodriguez, to resign.
Politico reported that some campaign aides:

have gone directly to campaign chair Maya Harris, the candidate’s sister, and argued that Rodriguez needs to be replaced if Harris has any hope of a turnaround, according to two officials.

One senior aide described the campaign as having “No discipline. No plan. No strategy”– a critique that follows the presidential hopeful’s switch in strategies, cutting staff in New Hampshire, and going “all-in” on Iowa.

However, Harris is dismissing the reports, telling reporters at the California Democratic convention over the weekend that her campaign has done “great work.”

“I am very supportive of my campaign, of the people who are working on it,’’ she said, according to Politico. “They’ve done great work which has gotten us to the point where we are today.“

“And let’s be clear,’’ she continued,” explaining that she is focused on “real issues” like impeachment.

“We have to focus on the real issues in front of us. We’ve got an impeachment hearing going on, we’ve got a criminal living in the White House, we’ve got immigrants who are afraid of leaving their homes. We’ve got the 2020 census coming up. … That’s where my head is focused,” she said.

Nonetheless, Democrats are skeptical and question whether it is wise to stay in the race until California’s March 3 primary, as it could, some say, cause undue embarrassment.

Politico reports:

But in the halls and meeting rooms of the Long Beach Convention Center, many of the battle-scarred Democratic insiders — strategists, elected officials, campaign operatives — had a far more caustic view of her chances, suggesting that Harris’ team has already let slip away her shot at the White House.

With California polls strongly suggesting she might not win, place — or even show — in her home state, many privately expressed the view that Harris should begin seriously considering leaving the race to avoid total embarrassment in the state’s early March primary. Her continued weakness in the presidential contest could even have a more damaging effect, several said — encouraging a primary challenger in 2022, when Harris is up for reelection.

“I don’t think she can last until California,’’ one strategist, Garry South, told Politico.

“I don’t wish her ill, but she’s got a decision to make: you limp in here and get killed in your home state, and it damages your reputation nationally,” he continued, adding that she could “pull out before the primary like Jerry Brown did in 1980” and “at least avoid the spectacle of being decisively rejected.”

The current Real Clear Politics average shows Harris in fifth place with 5.3 percent support. She is doing even worse in Iowa, where she has placed the bulk of her resources in hopes of reviving her spiraling campaign, landing in sixth place with 3.6 percent support. RCP’s average does not show her close to the top tier of contenders in her home state either, placing her in fourth with just eight percent support.

Kamala Harris Dismisses Festering Campaign Troubles: Campaign Has Done ‘Great Work’

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