| Notes |
Kamala Harris Is (Not) Running (Yet)
Though she may have tested out a 2020 slogan at an event in D.C. on Wednesday
By ANDY KROLL
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Sen. Kamala Harris, 2018
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) participates in a news conference to introduce a bill to reunify immigrant families, July 17, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The toughest ticket to score in the nation’s capital on Wednesday morning was one that, under normal circumstances, you would hardly expect.
On the 10th floor at the Center for American Progress, the venerable center-left think tank, several hundred policy wonks, reporters from the major networks and news outlets, Hill staffers and other attendees squeezed into a modest meeting room for an event titled “Eliminating Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Mortality,” a woefully under-covered yet critical subject. Surely, some in the room had come to hear from a serious panel of experts about a grave public-health crisis playing out in real time across this country. But many more turned out because of who headlined the event: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), the Trump-era star of the Democratic Party who is expected to announce her candidacy for the presidency next year.
It was Harrismania. The audience spilled out into the hallways, and the waitlist stretched to more than 100 names. Harris herself entered to huge applause and gave a tight, 10-minute set of remarks. She plugged a piece of legislation intended to tackle the mortality crisis afflicting black mothers and their infants. She tested out what sounded like a possible 2020 slogan. It was the kind of appearance we’re seeing a lot of from possible Democratic presidential contenders, and one that illustrated both the promise and the weakness of a future Harris candidacy. |