Senator Kamala Harris, who was once considered a front-runner in the crowded Democratic field for president, told supporters on Dec. 3 that she was ending her bid for the White House in 2020.
Her announcement marked an abrupt end to a candidacy that held historic potential.
“I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life,” the California Democrat said. “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.”
Harris reportedly made the decision last Monday after discussions with family and other top officials over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Her withdrawal marked a dramatic fall for a candidate many believed showed promise in her bid to become the first Black female president.
Harris had a good start. She launched her campaign in front of 20,000 people on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday last January in Oakland, California.
Her campaign had the potential to make history.
Harris, the first woman and first Black attorney general and U.S. senator in California’s history, was widely viewed as a candidate poised to excite the multiracial coalition of voters that sent Barack Obama to the White House.
Harris anchored her campaign in the powerful legacy of pioneering African Americans including a nod to Shirley Chisholm, the New York congresswoman who sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination 47 years ago.
One of her first stops as a candidate was to Howard University, the historically Black college that she attended as an undergraduate.
She spent much of her early campaign focusing on South Carolina, which hosts the first Southern primary and has a significant African-American population.
But Harris struggled to chip away from the support of former Vice President Joe Biden’s deep advantage with African Americans, who are critical to winning the Democratic nomination.
Harris ultimately did not convey a message that resonated with enough voters, including African American voters who are currently behind Biden.
Harris’s record as prosecutor was met with skepticism by the party’s progressive voters. She was not seen as being as moderate as other candidates including Biden or South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
She had confusing policy positions, particularly on health care. She initially suggested she would eliminate private insurance in favor of a fully government-run system. But she then shifted course and eventually rolled out a health care plan that preserves a role for private insurance.
Her message was also overshadowed by campaign aides sharing grievances with the news media.
Harris was also not able to secure the money to continue her run.
“I’m not a billionaire,” she said. “I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete.”
After raising an impressive $12 million in the first three months of her campaign and quickly locking down major endorsements, her fundraising remained flat as the field of candidates grew.
In her note to supporters, Harris expressed concerns about the role of money in politics. Without naming them, she took a shot at billionaires Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg, who are funding their own presidential bids.
Many of her supporters believe that despite some missteps Harris’s candidacy faced an uphill battle because of her race and gender. They believe that Harris could not find traction because America is not ready at this time for a Black female president. Supporters believed she faced unfair expectations for perfection from the start as a woman of color.
“She was an important voice in the race, out before others who raised less and were less electable. It’s a loss not to have her voice in the race,” said Aimee Allison, who leads She the People, a group that promotes women of color.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, one of two Black candidates still in the campaign, called Harris a “trailblazer.”
With Harris’s departure, 15 Democrats remain in the race for the nomination.
Her departure erodes the diversity of the Democratic field, which is dominated at the moment by a top tier that is White and mostly male.
For New Pittsburgh Courier
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