I was a Kamala Harris supporter from the start. So as you can imagine, her announcement to drop out of the presidential race hit me hard. The last couple of days have, admittedly, been emotional. But what I didn’t expect to feel is the anger and frustration I am feeling towards some of the other candidates, and how they have reacted to her bowing out. Specifically, those other candidates are Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and to a lesser degree, Julián Castro.
Many articles have been written in the last few days about other campaigns now competing for Harris’s supporters. That’s fine. Despite what the beltway media might have told you, she had very solid, dedicated support all over the country. She had very sizable and robust operations in early states, particularly in Iowa and South Carolina. Of course campaigns would want to scoop up her supporters. But these three have gone further than that. Especially Booker and Warren.
Warren started us off by firing out fundraising appeals through her email list and on Instagram. Both of these appeals featured mentions of Harris’s name (and Kirsten Gillibrand’s), grievances about them being “pushed out” of the race by billionaires, and a request to donate to Warren’s campaign to show that the presidency cannot be “bought.” The sponsored Instagram post featured a picture of Warren with Kamala Harris.
Has Kamala Harris endorsed Elizabeth Warren? No, she has not. Did the Warren campaign ask Harris if it was okay to use her name and face in a fundraising appeal? Probably not. And yet, that’s exactly what happened. Harris was being used for the purpose of funding a campaign that isn’t hers, mere hours after suspending her own campaign due to a lack of funds.
Warren’s message includes no mention of the specific and often brutal challenges Harris faced as a Black woman in politics. Instead, the frame is simply set as “Warren vs. Billionaires”, and Harris is used as a pawn in that battle to drum up support for Warren. It’s tacky and tone-deaf at best, and wildly disrespectful at worst.
Cory Booker has taken a bit of a different path, but one that feels just as tacky to many Harris supporters. Or – I’ll just speak for myself – it certainly does to me. In a speech in Iowa, he specifically talked about Harris, and for example, how it is unfair that there are more billionaires left in the race than there are Black people. Fair enough, no disagreement there. He extensively praised Harris’s campaign and its historical, barrier-breaking nature. Still no disagreements. But what did all of that praise lead to? A direct appeal to voters to pick up the phone when a pollster calls, and choose him, so he can get on the debate stage. Harris’s name, again, used as a vehicle to lift up a campaign that isn’t hers, and that she has not endorsed, mere days after she left the race.
Now, maybe it’s the timing. Maybe it’s the fact that the wound of Harris’s departure is still so fresh in her supporters’ minds. Maybe it’s just me. But it does not feel right that Cory Booker would use her name in this way to prop up his own campaign, particularly after staying silent about the unfair treatment she was receiving while she was still in the race. Particularly after choosing not to stand with her when she protested a Criminal Justice Forum in South Carolina that gave Donald Trump an award. Given the timing, given his desperation for qualifying polls to get to the debate (that she had qualified for), it feels opportunistic.
And then finally, Julián Castro. To his credit, when talking to reporters, he immediately called out the unfair treatment Harris received during the race. And he was right. But for his campaign, too, Harris’s departure was used as a fundraising opportunity, and later, on a call with reporters, he announced that he had raised over 300,000 dollars after Harris’s announcement to drop out.
That’s not that bad, you might be thinking. And you’d be right, it’s not that bad. And I get it, campaigns are ruthless and you do what you gotta do. But clearly, Harris dropping out was also used as a fundraising opportunity by Castro. And going back to the earlier point about campaigns trying to court Harris’s supporters… This does not feel like the right way. And again, it could just be me. Clearly there’s already a lot of overlap between people who like Harris and people who like Castro.
But the common thread between all of these cases is the insensitive timing.
If Elizabeth Warren was concerned about billionaires pushing women of color out of the race, she could have spoken out while the Black woman was still running. Instead, she saved the outrage for when that Black woman dropped out, and used it to raise funds for herself.
If Cory Booker was so impressed with Kamala Harris’s career and character (so much so that he often calls her his “sister”), he could have spoken out when her character and integrity were being attacked, and when lies were spread about her record. Instead, he saved the praise of his “sister” for when she dropped out and used it to try and get himself on a debate stage she had already qualified for.
If Julián Castro observed an unfair double standard in how Kamala Harris was treated by the press, he could have spoken up about it while it was happening. (Not that he himself has escaped unfair treatment either.) But instead, he chose to speak up only after she had left the race.
Of course, no rival was under any obligation to defend Kamala Harris. Let’s not lose sight of the ruthless realities of campaigning. But the complete radio silence during her run makes the words of support now ring just a little bit hollow, and the use of her name and story for personal benefit feel just a little bit opportunistic.