ATLANTA — Black Democratic women getting a glimpse of Sen. Kamala Harris’ campaign Sunday have mixed feelings about her bid for the White House.
The California Democrat, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Jamaica and India, started courting the key constituency and the state’s 100 delegates during a rally attended by about 3,000 people at Morehouse College, a well-known historically black institution.
“I fully intend to win this campaign, but a metric of our success will also be that at the end of this process that we are relevant,” the first-term senator said. “So this is a process that’s about listening as much as it is about talking, it’s about traveling around our country, and engaging and being with folks.”
Although some local black women in the crowd were on board with Harris even before she spoke, others are reserving judgment.
Gabrielle McMahan, a 31-year-old baker from Atlanta, told the Washington Examiner she was undecided about who she would support if the Democratic primary were held sooner rather than later. “I want to hear from all of them first, but I liked what I saw today,” McMahan said of Harris.
Jocelyn Wright, 62, who came on Sunday to learn more about the former California attorney general, said her first impression of the Oakland native was that she was “calm” and “keeps her cool.”
When asked about her background, Wright, a retired Atlanta school principal, indicated that it was “a plus.”
“I like that she looks like my family,” she said. “It’s not the only reason, but I like that fact.”
Black women voters comprise a modest, but highly consistent segment of the population. Ninety-two percent of black women voted for a Democrat in the 2018 midterm election, making them a key element of the party’s triumphs over the GOP. Looking ahead, they are poised to give a critical boost to any presidential candidate who can woo them.
Chanel Hicks, 36, a tech company project manager from Atlanta, wondered whether Harris’ own ethnicity would be a help or hinderance come Election Day. “I don’t know how much it will help because she could be seen as the black woman and that could work against her,” she said. “I wish it didn’t matter, but I’m not sure the country is ready for a black woman president.”
Among those more ardently excited about Harris’ campaign was Candace Bazemore. The 41-year-old Atlanta-based digital specialist told the Washington Examiner she could not wait for Harris to become the first woman president of the United States. “She seems warm and compassionate but she’s also ready to go on the attack, and that’s exactly what the country needs right now,” Bazemore said.
Colette Haywood, 51, was drawn to Harris’ positions on issues “affecting working people” such as affordable housing, given the mother of the Atlanta resident‘s foster children was homeless. But the community activist was not opposed to others running in the crowded Democratic field, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who is yet to declare his candidacy.
“Kamala’s one of my favorites, but I also don’t mind Joe Biden, particularly if he’s picking Stacey Abrams for vice president,” Haywood said, referring to Georgia’s unsuccessful 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Sunday’s rally in Atlanta rounded out Harris’ three-day swing through Texas and Georgia, during which she did not make herself available to the press. The member of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees is expected back in Washington this week to deal with the fallout of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report compiling his findings from the federal Russia investigation.
CORRECTION: In a previous version of this story, the Washington Examiner reported about 4,000 people attended the rally at Morehouse College. This has been updated to reflect that about 3,000 people attended the rally. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
