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CHICAGO — Usually, a president is simply nearly as good as Congress permits him to be.
That’s why California delegates on the Democratic Nationwide Conference in Chicago this week acquired the identical message, time and again: Kamala Harris’s success as president is of their fingers.
Whereas the vp is just about sure to win in California, the state has as much as six aggressive seats within the U.S. Home of Representatives that might switch management of the chamber to Democrats, serving to a Democratic president implement his agenda.
“On a championship team you have an MVP, you have a coach. But you don’t have a championship team unless you have some really good players,” Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic Nationwide Committee, informed delegates in this morning’s breakfast. “We, my friends, are the players.”
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor, informed delegates that whereas it was essential to go to key states to assist Harris win in November, it was additionally essential to mobilize voters for the congressional elections in these states.
“For our next president, Kamala Harris, to be effective and get things done, she needs Congress, and we know that,” Gonzalez informed CalMatters, describing the present Congress as unproductive. “Not being productive doesn’t help the American people and it definitely doesn’t help working people. So for us, those congressional races are really important.”
Harris and residential state delegates
Harris didn’t make a few of the common appearances earlier than delegates from a candidate’s dwelling state: She didn’t attend any of the California delegation breakfasts this week and skipped the California Democratic Occasion’s social gathering Wednesday evening on the Home of Blues.
However second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke to the group and shared conversations he had with Harris: Each time he praises Harris for her marketing campaign, she stops him and says, “We haven’t won anything yet.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who additionally missed the delegation breakfasts, attended the social gathering, together with former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.
However Harris’s absence didn’t dampen many delegates’ enthusiasm for her.
Shikha Hamilton, vp of organizing at Brady: United Towards Gun Violence, mentioned she has been a staunch supporter of Harris since her time as San Francisco district lawyer and has volunteered in each election Harris has run in since then.
Hamilton, who described herself as an authentic member of Ok-Hive (the political equal of Swifties, however for Harris), had anticipated the vp to attend the breakfast, however wasn’t too disenchanted.
“As activists, we understand that she has a job to do,” Hamilton mentioned. “Let’s let her do her job.”
Necole Adams, a 60-year-old Merced resident, echoed that sentiment: “My thing is that she’s going to be at the convention tonight. That’s going to be our big thing. Seeing our person from our neighborhood, our state, right? … When she walks out on stage, that’s going to be the ‘it’ for a lot of us.”
The California Issue
The place Harris spends her time could possibly be strategic, in response to Christian Grose, a politics professor at USC.
“She should spend time in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona delegations and the like,” he mentioned. “The more she is photographed with California Democrats, the less she will associate with the key states.”
Along with balancing her time, Harris should additionally steadiness its California id with a broader attractionparticularly now that former President Donald Trump and different Republicans try to color her as a “ liberal of San Francisco”. No California Democrat has ever been elected president.
Harris seems to have turn into more proficient at that balancing act, shifting a few of her stances after dropping out of the 2019 presidential race as a result of failed to lift sufficient cashFor instance, it’s now not introduced as a “progressive prosecutor” and retracted his help for banning fracking or a single-payer well being care system.
“I think Harris should highlight her experience in California as a prosecutor and talk about her work, which might seem compassionate but tough,” Grose mentioned. “She should celebrate California, as it is a big part of our diverse country, but she should also recognize that she will be driven by a national electorate.”
The listing of audio system throughout every evening’s programming appears to replicate that, with a broad swath from throughout the nation, together with some Excessive-profile Californians within the combinetogether with Sen. Laphonza Butler, Rep. Maxine Waters, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
Absent from that lineup to this point: Newsom, although he did the honors of delivering the California delegate depend and shut the ceremonial listing on Tuesday evening.
“California is playing an outsized role,” mentioned Nathan Click on, his spokesman. “Harris’ team has deployed him to work as a surrogate at Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and local television affiliate networks across the country, as well as for meetings and events with delegates.”
