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Monday, January 21, 2019

Kamela Harris announces presidential candidacy.

AP item, carried by Strib, stating in part:

[...] If Booker enters the race, he and Harris could face a fierce competition for support from black voters.

[...] South Carolina, where black voters make up a large share of the Democratic electorate, is likely to figure heavily into Harris's prospects. And early voting in Harris's home state of California will overlap with the traditional early nominating contests, which could give Harris a boost.

Harris's campaign team is already taking shape and includes several veterans of Democratic politics.

Juan Rodriguez, who ran Harris's 2016 Senate campaign, will manage her presidential bid. Her sister, Maya Harris, a former top adviser to Hillary Clinton, will be the campaign chair. The veteran campaign finance lawyer Marc Elias will serve as the Harris campaign's general counsel, and Angelique Cannon, who worked for Clinton's 2016 campaign, will serve as national finance director. David Huynh, who was Clinton's director of delegate operations in 2016, will serve as a senior adviser. Lily Adams, a Clinton campaign alum who has worked as Harris's spokeswoman, will be communications director.

Her staff says she plans to reject the assistance of a super PAC, as well as corporate PAC money. She's invested heavily in cultivating a digital, small-dollar donor network before her presidential bid.

Before her 2016 victory in the Senate race, Harris made her career in law enforcement. She served as the district attorney in San Francisco before she was elected to serve as attorney general.

[bolding added] From the campaign that lost to Trump. TRUMP!

If Booker does not enter the contest many will be greatly surprised. The Hill.

WashExaminer, stating:

Kamala Harris will do what Cory Booker can't: Say no to super PACs
by Philip Wegmann - January 21, 2019 12:23 PM


Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., just made her presidential announcement and made life that much harder for Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

Because if he wants the nomination, he will have to distinguish himself from her, and fast.

Both appeal to minority voters. Both captivate audiences with similarly inspiring stories about their upbringing. [...]

Unlike Booker though, Harris will say no to dark money. Multiple outlets report that she plans on rejecting assistance from super PACs as well as corporate dollars.

The clearest difference between the two so far, it could become a flash point in the coming primary fight where rejecting PAC money has become a badge of honor. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., built his 2016 campaign on small-dollar donations, rejecting most super PAC dollars and regularly whacking Hillary Clinton over her failure to do so. Harris is the latest in the 2020 crowd to follow in Sanders' footsteps.

What about union money? Presumably Harris would take it, "corporate" being a chosen word. Bernie will run again, it is a matter of time.

Booker taking corporate money? Links here, here, and here. "Better than Gillibrand," which applies to Harris and Booker, is not good enough. Not with actual progressives Warren and Sanders factored into things. Harris perhaps being better than others besides Warren and Bernie. A law enforcement background needs to be addressed, in terms of general popular appeal. These are not the Nixon years, Harris prosecuted, and marijuana legalization is an issue.