Kamala Harris vows to unite America, as California Democrats look to flip the House

CHICAGO — Kamala Harris pledged to unite Americans in her acceptance speech tonight, saying she’d chart “a new way forward” and build a more inclusive economy to boost the middle class.

But presidents often are only as good as Congress allows them to be.

That’s why California delegates at the Democratic National Convention here this week got the same message — again and again: Harris’ success as a president rests in their hands.

While the vice president is all but guaranteed to win California, the state has as many as six competitive U.S. House seats that could shift control of the chamber to Democrats — which would help a Democratic president enact their 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 damn good role players,” Jaime Harrison, chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, told the state’s delegates at this morning’s breakfast. “We, my friends, are the role players.”

Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation, told delegates that while it was important to go to key battleground states to help Harris win in November, it’s also important to mobilize voters for the in-state congressional races.

“For our next president, for Kamala Harris to be effective and to be able to get things done, she needs Congress, and we know that,” Gonzalez told CalMatters, describing the current Congress as unproductive.“Not being productive doesn’t help the American people and definitely doesn’t help workers. So for us, those congressional races are really important.”

Harris and home-state delegates

Harris didn’t make some of the usual appearances to a nominee’s home-state delegates: She didn’t attend any of the California delegation breakfasts this week, and she skipped the California Democratic Party’s bash Wednesday night at the House of Blues.

But Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff did speak to the crowd, sharing conversations he has with Harris: Every time he praises Harris for her campaign, she stops him and says: “We haven’t won anything yet.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who also missed the delegation breakfasts, attended the party, along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.

California Democrats applaud U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg during the California Democratic Party delegation breakfast in Chicago on Aug. 21, 2024.

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Manuel Orbegozo

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CalMatters

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But Harris’ absence didn’t dampen many delegates’ enthusiasm for her.

Shikha Hamilton, vice president of organizing at Brady: United Against Gun Violence, said she has been an ardent supporter of Harris’ since her time as San Francisco’s district attorney and has volunteered in every election Harris has run in since.

Hamilton, who described herself as an original member of the K-Hive — the political equivalent of Swifties, but for Harris — hoped the vice president would come to the breakfast, but she wasn’t too disappointed.

“As activists we understand she’s got a job to do,” Hamilton said. “Let her do her job.”

Necola Adams, a 60-year old Merced resident, agreed: Knowing Harris was from California — “from our hood, our state” — was enough.

“Being at the DNC at this moment in time, this historic moment in time is like any and everything you could wish for,” she said. “If you could have been with Dr. King at the March on Washington, or if you could have been with them in Selma, right? Or you could have been at any one of those other moments in time in history that impacted our country in such a significant way. This is one of those moments.”

The California factor

Where Harris spends her time might be strategic, according to Christian Grose, politics professor at USC.

“She needs to be spending time in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona delegations and similar,” he said. “The more she’s photographed with California Democrats, the less she’s engaging with the swing states.”

In addition to balancing her time, Harris also must balance her California identity with a broader appeal — especially as former President Donald Trump and other Republicans try to paint her as a “San Francisco liberal.” No California Democrat has ever been elected president.

Harris seems to have become more savvy on that balancing act, shifting some of her stances after dropping out of the 2019 presidential race because she failed to raise enough money. She no longer brands herself as a “progressive prosecutor,” for example, and backed away from support of a fracking ban or a single-payer health care system.

“I think Harris needs to highlight her experience in California as a prosecutor and talk about her work that could come off as compassionate but tough,” Grose said. “She should celebrate California as it is one big part of our diverse country, but also needs to tip her hat to the idea that she’ll be driven by a national constituency.”

Harris sought to walk that fine line in her acceptance speech tonight — recalling her Oakland upbringing and charting her career, while vowing to unite the entire nation.

“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past — a chance to chart a New Way Forward, not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans,” she said. “I promise to be a president for all Americans.”

The line-up of speakers during the programming each evening seemed to reflect that balance, with a broad swath from all over the country, along with some high-profile Californians in the mix, including Sen. Laphonza Butler, Rep. Maxine Waters, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr.

Absent from that line-up: Newsom, though he did the honors of delivering California’s delegate tally and closing the ceremonial roll call Tuesday night.

“California is playing an outsized role,” said Nathan Click, his spokesperson. “He’s been deployed by the Harris team for surrogate work on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and networks of local tv affiliates across the country — in addition to meeting and events with delegates.”