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| Sen. Kamala Harris got national attention with her aggressive questioning of AG Jeff Sessions. |
California Sen. Kamala Harris is set to release a new book about her life and her solutions for the country, spurring speculation that she is readying to challenge Donald Trump in 2020.
The California Democrat’s book, titled “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” is scheduled to be published by Penguin Press on January 9, 2019,
If you will recall, Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney released books about the same time before they launched their runs at the U.S. Presidency.
There are better known Democrats that might run for president in 2020: Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden for starters. Harris, formerly California’s Attorney General, is not as well known outside of her home state, but she has an appeal that may be broader than the others. The first-term senator from California has surged into a tie with Sen. Bernie Sanders(I-Vt.) as the betting favorite among potential Democratic candidates to win the 2020 presidential election.
Betting site Oddshark lists Donald Trump as the runaway favorite to win in 2020, with betting odds of +140. However, Harris and Sanders each hold the second-best odds at +1,200, as of Aug. 7.
Oddschecker, a site that averages odds across different betting platforms, gives Harris the best odds to win the Democratic nomination, followed by Biden, who has emerged as the favored candidate among Democrats in a number of recent polls.
As a cautionary warning to Democrats, Cadelago says the groups are also pursuing a strategy intended to pit Democrats against each other. The rise of so-called Democratic Socialists within the Democratic party probably has the GOP rubbing their hands in glee. They have already branding the Democratic ideological split as the “#RaceToTheLeft.”
In listing her presidential attributes in mainstream media, they usually start out something like, “she’s young, female and black.” even though his father is from Jamaica. For some reason MSM always forget that she’s half-Asian American (Her mother was an immigrant from India.) or that her mother brought her and her sister to India frequently.
Her atypical upbringing hasn’t turned off any of her black supporters in the way Barack Obama’s Hawaii and Indonesian upbringing created an initial suspicion among African Americans as he set the foundation for his eventual presidential campaign.
Harris wouldn’t even be the first Asian American to declare a run for the presidency. That honor goes to entrepreneur Andrew Yang, a long shot for sure, but he has some interesting ideas that might garner wide appeal.
California’s junior senator’s rousing performance at the Netroots Nation gathering in New Orleans earlier this month had the progressive wing of the Democrats buzzing despite the presence of other presidential hopefuls Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker.
If she chooses to be a candidate, Harris could be a formidable opponent. In the two years since she’s been a senator, some observers say she has taken the strategic steps to raise her profile nationally:
- She has adopted Bernie Sanders’ healthcare plank, “medicare for all,” pleasing the legions of devout Bernie supporters;
- raised tons of money for other lesser known Democratic candidates across the country, building up a wad of political IOUs which she can call upon;
- during this primary season, her endorsement has been sought across the nation;
- as the daughter of immigrants, she has taken head-on Trump’s immigration policies from the Muslim ban to family reunification and she’s not afraid to call the policies for what they are — racist;
- her background as a prosecutor makes her almost immune from the law-&-order types who attack candidates with lesser credentials as soft on crime; and
- she comes from a deep-blue state that has the most electoral votes (55) and has battled Washington on a host of fronts, including the environment, immigration, and healthcare.
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| Sen. Kamala Harris often gets the rock-star reception among voters. |
In addition, since the day after Trump won, she has been relentless in developing an online presence and following. Harris has insisted she is focused on the 2018 midterm elections, raising $3 million for Democratic senators up for reelection this year.
But that same digital infrastructure can be used for fundraising which allows her to forgo contributions from corporations and special interests, the traditional source of campaign financing. She has built up a small-donor base
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