Black Harris staffers accuse campaign leadership of abuse and “blatant racism” in a damning new article outlining numerous allegations against the now-defunct campaign.
The New York Times published an article on Sunday titled “How alarmed Harris staffers cheated to reach Black and Latino voters.” The article reports that some campaign staffers, frustrated with the campaign's lack of sufficient efforts to reach voters of color in Philadelphia, ignored instructions from higher-ups and took matters into their own hands. It details the secret operation that solved the problem.
“Many of our staff members felt that Philadelphia's racially diverse neighborhoods were being ignored.” times story reading material“Black campaign staffers and political operatives said campaign leaders dismissed their concerns that Democrats were taking their support base for granted.''
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Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech after the 2024 presidential election on the campus of Howard University on Wednesday, November 6, in Washington, DC. (AP/Jacqueline Martin)
Frustration with campaign leadership on the issue reached a boiling point as the election approached, according to more than 30 staffers interviewed by The Times.
“After Harris' loss, Black campaign staffers set up a call to discuss career opportunities with political strategist and podcast host Angela Rye. The conversation quickly turned as the group shared anger over its methods. Their field operations were underfunded and haphazard in several battleground states, according to phone records obtained by the Times. '', the article says.
Some staffers also reportedly complained that the campaign wasn't hiring enough people of color or contracting with consulting firms with Black or Latino owners.
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The Times article quotes staffers who claimed that many election offices in Philadelphia were “filthy and lacked basic supplies such as tables, chairs, cleaning supplies, and printers.” The Times said some election offices, which primarily serve black communities, were moved to upscale areas far from their areas of responsibility.
Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at the Alan Horwitz Sixth Man Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
According to the Times, the Harris campaign commissioned an internal investigation that found that “Black staffers are dissatisfied with campaign leadership and feel their ideas are ignored at a much higher rate than other members.” It was reported that it was concluded that
“Some people complained of overt racism. Campaign leadership was aware of the findings,” the article said.
Employees were reportedly afraid to divulge these allegations to the press for fear of ruining their future employment prospects. quoted by the Times An all-staff conference call after the election was hosted by principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fawkes, who allegedly told staffers that speaking to the media would hurt their careers.
Harris campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said Fawkes “denies that he used such language or tone on the phone call, and instead told his staff that in a moment of anger he did not criticize himself or the vice president.” “I advised him not to say anything that could be hurtful,” he reportedly said. ” the Times noted.
The article features Quentin James, founder of Collective PAC, a group focused on black elected officials and voters who worked with the Harris campaign, who says, “Officials in Philadelphia, Detroit, and North Carolina “I called him in desperation in the final week.” They contend that they did not have enough money to provide food and water to volunteers. ”
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Still, “Harris campaign leaders appeared to be in denial about the situation in Philadelphia,” the Times wrote.
“Late on election night, campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon sent an email to all staff stating that the Harris campaign 'exceeded turnout expectations,' especially in areas with large numbers of non-white voters.”
But it was Trump who overperformed in key demographics in Pennsylvania, improving his numbers in predominantly black and Latino areas, which helped him win in key battleground states. and ultimately helped put him in office on election night.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris greets departing attendees after speaking during a service at Christian Mercy Church in Philadelphia, Sunday, October 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
By contrast, Harris received more than 30,000 fewer votes than President Biden in 2020 in Philadelphia.
Some Democratic operatives and campaign staff remain divided over whether it was a lack of outreach to voters of color or a lack of relatable messages from candidates. .
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“This campaign has done more than any previous campaign in reaching black and Latino voters in Philadelphia,” Kellan White, a senior adviser to Harris' campaign in Pennsylvania, told the Times. .The problem is not that we didn't knock.” For these doors — we knocked on a lot of doors, but the problem was that the message itself didn't get through — it's something we as parties need to spend time and energy on and understand why we knocked. That's true. At these doors, what we had to say did not resonate well with voters. ”
Former Harris campaign staffers did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
