US Presidential Election: Kamala Harris Withdraws from the Race

The Democratic senator was aiming to become the first black woman to reach the White House. She’s finally thrown in the towel.

The campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination started out as one of the most open and diverse campaigns in history. California Sen. Kamala Harris, who was aiming to beat Donald Trump in November 2020 and become the first black woman president of the United States, announced the suspension of her campaign on Tuesday. Now the race is closing in around mostly white, older candidates. For now, only six of the 15 remaining contenders have qualified for the next debate on Dec. 19 in Los Angeles: former Vice President Joe Biden, who is leading the polls (at 27% on average, calculated by the RealClearPolitics Institute), Sens. Bernie Sanders (at 16%), Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and billionaire financier Tom Steyer.

”Passion Project for Bored Billionaires”

Harris is not the first candidate to abandon this extremely long and expensive race. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke have already dropped out. “My campaign to be elected president simply does not have the means we need to continue,” Harris explained to her supporters. “I’m not a billionaire. I can not fund my own campaign,” she said, mentioning no names but subtly pointing fingers at billionaires Steyer and Michael Bloomberg, two Democratic primary candidates who certainly have no cash flow issues.

“Kamala is right—our system is deeply broken when billionaires can buy their way in,” Warren tweeted. Warren is in third place on average in the polls (at 14%) and is proposing a tax on the super-rich in her campaign. Warren echoed Harris’ sentiments in a fundraising email to supporters: “Running for president shouldn’t be a passion project for bored billionaires,” the Massachusetts senator declared.

Trailblazing

Harris’ campaign actually started out strong. In late January, the 55-year-old senator announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in front of 20,000 enthusiastic fans in her hometown of Oakland, California. The last 10 months of town halls and meetings marked the start of a trailblazing campaign. A daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, she was the first woman, and the first African American, to be elected California attorney general in 2011. She also became only the second black senator in American history when she was elected in 2016, representing the Senate in the most populous state in the country.

Her remarks during the Democratic debates made an impact, propelling her this summer into third position in the polls and winning her favor among the Democratic establishment. But her sluggish progression on topics dear to the party’s progressive fringe—legalizing marijuana, fighting mass incarceration—hindered her campaign, which has recently struggled to raise money and broaden its support base. She also sent mixed messages to Democratic voters by supporting and then reversing herself on the universal health insurance proposal championed by her main opponent, Vermont Independent Sen. Sanders, leaving her allegiances unclear. Reports have emerged in recent days about internal campaign management problems and even the departures of some campaign workers.

Shortly before dropping out of the race, “one of the toughest decisions” of her life, Harris’ position was dwindling in sixth place in the polls (at 3.4%). She was surpassed by former New York mayor, billionaire Bloomberg (at 4%), who officially launched his campaign in late November. With such a late entry into the race, the centrist candidate is taking a bold and unprecedented gamble. He won’t be on the ballot in the first primaries in February in Iowa and New Hampshire, which usually set the tone for the rest of the election. Bloomberg will only be on the ballot after Super Tuesday, March 3, the day when 15 key primaries take place. Over the next few months, Bloomberg plans to target the states voting on Super Tuesday with several campaign commercials, thanks to a record-breaking self-financed advertising budget.

”Shame”

During the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in London, President Trump responded to Harris’ decision. “Too bad. We will miss you, Kamala!” he mocked on Twitter.

“Don’t worry, Mr. President. I’ll see you at your trial,” the California senator responded, referring to Trump’s current impeachment proceedings, the second part of which takes place in the Senate.

In a statement on Tuesday, Harris reaffirmed her commitment to the campaign and her principles. According to the American press, she could potentially stand as the running mate of whomever wins the party nomination this summer, and seek to become the vice president of the United States.