Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) attends the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs hearing to examine Customs and Border Protection, focusing on the evolving challenges facing the agency, in the Office Building of the Dirksen Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 25, 2020.
Tom Williams | Pool via Reuters
Some of Joe Biden’s allies are campaigning behind the scenes to prevent California Democrat Senator Kamala Harris from becoming her vice president.
This disgruntled group of at least a dozen Biden sponsors, including some of its top donors, started the movement against Harris almost a month ago, just a few weeks before a decision is expected, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Many of those who spoke to CNBC declined to be named since these efforts have been made in private.
In some cases, their enemies have brought their concerns directly to members of Biden’s vice presidential search committee, led by former Senator Chris Dodd, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del, and Cynthia. Hogan, who previously served as attorney for the alleged Democratic candidate when he was Vice President of President Barack Obama.
Although none of these actions means that Biden will remove Harris from the list, the move gives an idea of the effort being made to derail his candidacy.
Some remain resentful of his attacks on Biden during last year’s primary debates, saying they question his loyalty to the former vice president. Others argue that he is too ambitious and will only focus on becoming president. Many of these Biden associates have been promoting alternatives to Harris, including Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla, Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif, former United States Ambassador Susan Rice, and Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. .
A group of donors attempted similar tactics earlier this year against Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, who openly said she would accept the offer to be vice president of Biden.
Representatives for Biden and Harris did not respond to a request for comment.
Biden said at a press conference Tuesday that he will make his final decision next week. At the time of his comments, he was holding a set of notes that seemed to answer for Harris. The document was captured in a photograph taken by the Associated Press. Her apparent decision to support Harris came after Politician detailed some of the concerns that Biden’s supporters have raised about her becoming vice president, including Dodd himself, who he reportedly told a donor he was baffled. when he seemed to have no regrets about attacking Biden’s earlier stance on Busing integrated into last year’s debate.
John Morgan, a Florida businessman and merchant, admitted to CNBC that he privately expressed his concern for Harris to those trying to guide Biden about his eventual selection.
“He would run for president on the day of the inauguration,” Morgan said Wednesday. “Loyalty and friendship should mean something to me. But as Bill Clinton once told me, the number one cause of Alzheimer’s disease is ambition,” he added, noting that he is in favor of Demings.
“I think quite a number of people closest to Joe are lobbying against Kamala, including me,” a Chicago-based businessman who supports Biden told CNBC. “I don’t like it and I don’t like the way he campaigned. He seems to be not loyal and very opportunistic.”
A California-based political operative who was previously raising money for Harris’s presidential campaign, explained the move to reverse his chances of vice president, including by Biden’s allies in his home state.
“A lot of people here are enjoying the photo opportunity,” said this person.
But, despite efforts, Harris still appears to be on the first tier of candidates for the job.
Predict It, a prediction betting site that tracks political events, shows Harris ahead of all the other VP options.
In Biden’s notes that seemed to defend her, she described Harris as “talented,” “a great help to the campaign” and that he has “great respect for her.”
Harris has also been a key voice when it comes to fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
In a recent op-ed published on USA Today, Harris criticized President Donald Trump and Republicans for their response to Covid-19.
“People across the country are pleading with the president and his Republican supporters in Congress to approach these crises with the seriousness they deserve, acknowledge their mistakes and work on behalf of the people who sent them to Washington,” he said. “If they can’t, it’s time for them to step aside and let the real leaders lead.”
Trump himself told reporters Wednesday that he believed Harris would be a “good fit” to be Biden’s running mate.
Notes from former Democratic Vice President Presidential candidate Joe Biden refer to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Among other things as she speaks at a campaign event at the William “Hicks” Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday, July 28 of 2020.
Andrew Harnik | AP
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