CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Kamala Harris has decided to run with an expletive-laced comment she did not intend to become public about her decision to focus on winning Iowa.
“I’m f–king moving to Iowa,” the California senator told Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono on Capitol Hill Wednesday. A reporter overheard and tweeted the exchange and later noted that Harris had a brief “oh no” moment when she realized the reporter was within earshot.
Harris’ team turned the snafu into a celebration of Harris’ new campaign strategy after her decline in primary polls over the summer.
Harris Communications Director Lily Adams on Thursday tweeted a T-shirt design with the quote. Thursday evening, the campaign sent a fundraising email with “‘I’m f****** moving to Iowa’ – Kamala Harris” as the subject line. “She cut to the chase!” the email said. “We’re doubling our organizers on the ground in Iowa and Kamala is ramping up her time on the trail there, beginning today in Cedar Rapids.”
Stacey Walker, a Linn County supervisor, noted the comment while introducing Harris at a Cedar Rapids town hall. “I heard recently that Sen. Harris is considering moving to the state of Iowa,” he said. “We all know we could use some more Democrats in the state of Iowa, but we sure could use a Democrat in the White House.”
The California senator spent less time in early primary states in recent months than some of her opponents, opting instead to attend private fundraisers. One recent poll found that long-shot candidate Andrew Yang performed slightly better than Harris in her home state of California.
With the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses less than five months away, Harris plans to visit Iowa every week in October, and campaign officials say that she aims for a top-three finish in the Iowa caucuses.
When asked about the comment, Harris expressed frustration about “the realities of a campaign.”
“I cannot only be in Iowa, because South Carolina is also a state that is very important, that I care about. Until we have campaign finance reform, I need to fundraise,” Harris told reporters. “So it can be frustrating, frankly, to have to make these decisions that feel like a trade-off, but I plan to spend as much time as I can.”
Earlier this month, Harris’ campaign had another instance of private information unintentionally becoming public. Staffers accidentally left a campaign memo in a New Hampshire restaurant with talking points about her few appearances in the state and low poll numbers.
[Opinion: Kamala Harris’ big blunder]
