Well, I was wrong, and I’m disappointed about what it means for Herstory. Last week, Kamala Harris ended her campaign for president — just two months short of the Iowa caucus and February’s first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary. While I expected that some in the crowded Democratic field would drop out before the voting began, I never expected Harris would be one of them. I’m not sure she would’ve won the Democratic nomination, but I thought as the field narrowed, she would be one of the top candidates. Instead, she’s the newest addition to that galling historical footnote which includes the names of women who’ve unsuccessfully tried for the nation’s most powerful office.
Four years ago, I predicted that Kamala Harris was the next best hope for a female commander in chief. It was shortly after candidate Hillary Clinton’s bruising loss; there was no identifiable woman president pipeline. Not even a pipe. I’m pretty certain I was one of the first, if not the first, to urge the former California attorney general to run for president. I noted that it was a premature request, since when that commentary aired, she hadn’t even taken the oath for her Senate seat. In fact, she had yet to see her Washington office. Few knew who she was back then — I had to recount her legal and political background and explain how to pronounce her name.
I fear Senator Harris’ dropout is the start of a domino effect that ultimately knocks over all the other candidates of color. After all, hers was the 2020 campaign that had the strongest promise — 20,000 showed up at her campaign kickoff — and she’s been a top tier candidate since then, making every single Democratic debate stage. So far, entrepreneur Andrew Yang and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard are the only nonwhite candidates who may have a shot at qualifying for the upcoming Dec. 20 debate. And, right now, the six candidates who are confirmed are all white. Something Sen. Corey Booker, who is African-American, highlighted in a tweet, posting, “We started out with one of the most diverse fields in our history ... and we’re spiraling toward a debate stage without a single person of color.” Low polling data will keep Booker and Julian Castro out of the debate, as well as recently announced candidate of color Deval Patrick. Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who joined the campaign after Patrick, doesn’t qualify either, but he doesn’t care. He is circumventing the debates and instead spending his own money on an expansive and expensive advertising buy to set him up for Super Tuesday. He’s already spent more in one week than Senator Harris raised all year. In her video to supporters, Harris explained she didn’t have the money to go on, pointedly saying, “I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign.” She is now the poster child for those who’ve long warned and raged about money’s outsized influence in American elections.
Though this may not be Sen. Kamala Harris’ time to run for the presidency, I feel confident she’ll try again. The upcoming Senate impeachment trial will showcase her outstanding prosecutorial skills and help keep her on the national radar. And I’m also certain she will top the list of possibles for vice president. The political analysts say Kamala Harris’ campaign failed with the voters because they couldn’t quite figure her out. But I predict they won’t forget her, and that’s half the battle.
