Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “traveled to Afghanistan over the weekend as part of a congressional delegation, her office revealed Tuesday,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
“Such congressional trips are often kept secret until the lawmakers have returned.”
“Harris went to Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif, and Kandahar, Afghanistan. She received briefings and met with U.S. troops, diplomats and national security professionals.”
“Let’s be honest. It’s going to be ugly. When you break things, it is painful. And you get cut. And you bleed.”
— Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), in an interview with NBC News, on the 2020 presidential race.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told NBC News that she will make a decision on running for president over the holidays.
Said Harris: “It will ultimately be a family decision… And over the holiday, I will make that decision with my family.”
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“Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) isn’t saying if she plans to run for president, but her Facebook presence is another story,” the HuffPost reports.
“The potential Democratic 2020 contender is running roughly 1,100 Facebook ads asking their audience to sign a ‘Protect Mueller’ petition — a tactic politicians commonly use to build huge lists of potential voters and their email addresses.”
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “has given herself an important edge over a potentially crowded 2020 Democratic presidential candidate field: She’s raised more for Democrats running this year than any other senator,” McClatchy reports.
“Kamala Harris swears she’s ‘not bullshitting’ when she says she’s squarely focused on the midterm elections. But even before she arrived here Monday, there were signs of the California senator’s heightening preparation for a 2020 presidential run. In recent days, an adviser told Politico, Harris sent $25,000 to the Democratic parties in all four early nominating states: Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire.”
“Then Harris crossed into this first-in-the-nation caucus state for the first time this year, stumping for Iowa Democrats and previewing the contours of her own likely campaign.”
“Sen. Kamala Harris’ advisers are privately discussing a rough Democratic primary strategy that would focus heavily on Iowa, but with an eye toward high-value nominating contests coming later in Nevada, South Carolina and California — more diverse states where her candidacy might resonate with larger minority communities,” Politico reports.
“Harris, a first-term senator, would still face significant obstacles in each of those states. But as a black woman who has also won statewide elections in California — where the black proportion of the electorate is relatively small — Harris could be well positioned to compete in both the Southeast and the West.”
“Getting more serious about a 2020 run by the day, Kamala Harris (D-CA) has been reaching out to Democrats in Iowa to plan a trip there at the end of the month,” The Atlantic reports.
“The California senator is likely to spend the final weekend before the midterms in the home of the first caucuses, crossing a symbolic but unmistakably significant line toward owning her interest in a presidential campaign.”
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told CBS News that she believes the woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when the two were high school students in the 1980’s, noting that Christine Blasey Ford, the woman behind the allegations, has “nothing to gain” by stepping forward.
Said Harris: “I think it’s going to be about, it comes down to credibility…and it’s going to about listening to what each party has to say, but I believe her.”
“Nearly 12 hours into Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation hearing, Kamala Harris opened with a tantalizing query: Has the Supreme Court nominee ever discussed Robert Mueller’s probe with a lawyer at Kasowitz Benson & Torres, President Donald Trump’s longtime law firm?,” Politico reports.
Said Harris: “Be sure about your answer, sir.”
“Trump’s high court pick appeared nonplussed, responding that ‘I’m not sure I know everyone who works at that law firm,’ but the California Democrat – a veteran prosecutor known for her tenacious questioning and high on her party’s 2020 presidential short lists — would not let up.”
Asked Harris: “How can you not remember whether you’ve had a conversation about Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at that law firm?”
First Read: The best thing that happened to Brett Kavanaugh was that anonymous op-ed. Why? Because had it not come out, the top political story in America this morning would be his rough day on Capitol Hill yesterday.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “will make her first endorsement in an Iowa campaign on Friday, her first inroad into the first-in-the-nation caucus state,” Politico reports.
“Harris will endorse Deidre DeJear for Iowa secretary of state.”
”Like many top Democrats, Harris has maintained a cautious distance from Iowa, leery of appearing solicitous of attention beyond the midterm elections. She is not expected to appear in Iowa for the endorsement announcement.”
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) tells the AP that “every month for the last 18 months, her office has discovered on average between three and five fake Facebook profiles pretending to be hers.”
“It’s unclear who creates the pages, which are often designed to mislead American voters about the ambitious Democratic senator’s policies and positions.”
Los Angeles Times: “Harris won’t say whether she’s running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. But nearly everyone thinks she will.”
“Her first — and perhaps greatest – challenge is introducing herself to American voters outside of California who know little about the 53-year-old beyond early comparisons to President Obama. And Harris needs to move fast. Her political rivals – in the GOP and within her own party – are already trying to put their own, less flattering stamp on Harris.”
”The branding effort portrays her as a Beltway outsider, a progressive with a compelling personal story and a tough former prosecutor who won’t shy from President Trump’s attacks.”
Perry Bacon: “Sen. Kamala Harris has not officially said she is running in 2020, but she hasn’t denied it, either, and she’s showing many of the signs of someone who is preparing for a run, including campaigning for her Democratic colleagues in key races and signing a deal to write a book. The Californian ranks low in polls of the potential Democratic 2020 field, and she doesn’t have the name recognition of other contenders… But betting markets have her near the top, reflecting the view among political insiders that Harris could win the Democratic nomination with a coalition of well-educated whites and blacks, the way Obama did in 2008.”
“Whatever happens later, the rise of Harris and her viability for 2020 tell us something about American politics right now: We are in the midst of an intense partisan and ideological battle over culture and identity; the Democrats aren’t backing down or moving to the center on these issues; and politicians who want to lead in either party will probably have to take strong, clear stances on matters of gender and race.”
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has a new book scheduled to be published just after the midterm elections: The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told NBC News that she isn’t ruling out a 2020 run for president in her most direct comments yet about her political future.
Said Harris: “I’m not ruling it out, no.”
“Harris is viewed as a rising star in Democratic politics. Her likely presidential ambitions are the subject of wide speculation, and she’s often included on the not-so-short lists of potential Democratic 2020 hopefuls.“
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “recently became the latest potential presidential candidate to pledge to no longer accept money from corporate political action committees — a move adopted by an increasing number of progressive Democrats who calculate that they have more to gain than lose by forgoing corporate PAC money,” Politico reports.
“But Harris’ decision also reflected a broader — potentially more significant — effort to fortify her small-donor fundraising strategy ahead of the 2020 election.”
“She’s spending aggressively to bolster her digital campaign infrastructure and cultivate supporters online, creating a template that resembles the one that served Sanders so well against Hillary Clinton.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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