Tag-Kamala’s It
Former President Donald Trump is a big fan of professional wrestling. He even tag teamed up with Hulk Hogan’s t-shirt ripping off stunt at the Republican National Convention.
Trump thought he had President Joe Biden on the ropes following their June 27th debate. But Biden had a real tag team partner in Vice-President Kamala Harris. Harris then stole the show and rocked Team Trump in their first round.
48 Hours
By Tuesday, only 48 hours after Biden dropped out, Harris not only set fundraising records with her over $100 million haul but essentially locked up the nomination. That performance does not come out of thin air — but is rooted in a skilled politician with a wide and deep support base that was raring to go.
Harris, and her grassroots swell of supporters, were clearly ready for this historic moment. She brings fresh energy, prosecutorial experience and charisma and has jump started the Democratic base — particularly women, voters under 35 and voters of color. She’s 59 and has the ability to hold onto Biden’s demographic base of support — voters 65 and over.
Pundits have been critical of Harris’s poorly run 2020 Presidential Campaign — the only race she never finished — but still emerged on the Presidential ticket, in part due to her rock-solid debating chops. She does not have to build out a team — all she had to do was change the signs, logo and website address. More than 60% of donors to Harris had not yet given to Biden — that’s a remarkable fundraising juggernaut.
Team Kamala is in place, staying on message and ready for the 100-day sprint.
First Political Win — Exploiting San Francisco’s Seamy Side
I was living in San Francisco when Harris launched her first political campaign, challenging two-term San Francisco District Attorney Terrence Hallinan. Hallinan, a product of a storied political family who rarely said no to a “let’s take this outside” fist fight, had some electoral vulnerabilities.
Campaigns in San Francisco are messy, mean and nasty. This race featured a little bit of everything — a massage parlor raid and prosecutors caught having sex in the DA’s office.
Harris’s debate skills included tying Hallinan to these seamy controversies. During the debate, she even circled her opponents while delivering knockout blows about these juicy, cringe inducing events. She ended up trouncing Hallinan and a third candidate with her reform and issues-based campaign. Harris showed she could brawl with the best of them.
Winning 2010 California Attorney General Race in a Squeaker
Harris narrowly won the 2010 California Attorney General race. She beat Republican Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, by less than a percentage point, 46.1% to 45.3%. Cooley swept the Central Valley — including Sacramento County — and San Diego, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange Counties — areas that now are reliably or leaning Democratic in statewide elections.
This was no easy race for Harris. This time she traded the street fighting of San Francisco with a highly partisan brawl over prosecuting crime and upholding justice.
Crafty Joe Steps On Trump’s Post-Convention Bounce
By dropping out less than 72 hours after the RNC ended — okay he did get some extra cushion with Trump’s 90+ minute diatribe of an acceptance speech — President Biden took the wind out of Trump’s sails. All the oxygen was sucked up by Kamala Harris’s stunning 48-hour performance.
It will take a slew of quality post-Biden drop out polls to gain better insight. Expect the persuadable and undecided voters who comprise roughly 10% of the electorate to be rather fluid in the next months.
But the few polls since Biden’s announcement show a tightening race and statistical tie with Harris gaining ground with voters under 35, women, African-Americans and Latinos.
Tag Team for Turnout
The Harris effect has got to be driving Trump crazy. She is out fundraising him, getting all the attention that he so craves and delivering verbal blows that he can’t tag team out of to escape.
In just days, Harris has organically built a growing and seemingly endless team of volunteers ready to step in and tag up.
The expanded turnout and new registered voter edge could now go to Team Kamala.
Scott Adams is Executive Creative Director of Award-Winning Green Alley Strategies, www.greenalleystrategies.com.
