The Harris campaign’s operation in the key battleground of Pennsylvania has some of the state’s Democrats worried about her failing to work effectively with key Democratic officials.
Operatives close to Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the Harris campaign hasn’t made enough of an effort to work closely with the mayor. Ms. Parker became the first woman and Black woman to hold the position, and in a city with such diverse residents, she could be invaluable.
“The Pennsylvania and national leadership of the campaign are out of touch with what things move the current electorate within the African American community,” Will Dunbar, a Democratic strategist and lobbyist who advised Ms. Parker’s campaign, told the outlet.
Ms. Parker has maintained that she’s been involved with the campaign since the start.
According to the FiveThirtyEight poll aggregator, Ms. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, are essentially tied in Pennsylvania.
Some say the Democrat’s operation isn’t running smoothly because of Ms. Harris’ Pennsylvania campaign manager, Nikki Lu, and her lack of Philadelphia knowledge.
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“She herself was not well-known in Philadelphia before she took this job, and I just get the sense that she’s just not great at interpersonal politics,” an anonymous member of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party told the outlet.
Ryan Boyer, the first Black leader of the city’s Building and Construction Trades Council, told Politico that he also has concerns about Ms. Lu.
“I don’t think she understands Philadelphia,” he said.
Ms. Lu declined to comment to both outlets.
Some 20 Pennsylvania Democratic officials and allies told Politico that they’re worried about the Harris campaign not doing enough to reach voters of color in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the surrounding suburbs. A group of Latino and Black Democratic leaders even met with the campaign to push for more to be done.
Others in the city praise the campaign’s senior adviser for Philadelphia, Kellan White, son of John F. White Jr., a prominent Black official in city politics.
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“Thank God for Kellan White. He’s doing a great job,” Bob Brady, chair of the Democratic City Committee, told the Inquirer. “He may have been hamstrung a little bit, but now he’s not and that’s really, really good for us.”
Harris national campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez told Politico that the campaign “is running the largest and most sophisticated operation in Pennsylvania history.”
“We invested in targeted advertising to Black and Latino voters starting in August of 2023, and we have now spent more than any previous presidential campaign on outreach to these communities,” she said.
Still, the state is a key battleground that is up for grabs. President Biden won the state in 2020 by a slim 1.2% of the vote, but Mr. Trump grabbed the state by an even slimmer margin in 2016.
The Washington Times has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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