Harris' mostly virtual campaign to get Wisconsin road test

Kamala Harris told an agreeable crowd of Hollywood donors on Thursday they'd be surprised by just how many states she's visiting daily, if only virtually.

Earlier in the week, she'd campaigned before supporters in Minnesota, California and Connecticut, and she was greeting Missouri donors next.

Harris was not on a plane in greater than a month. Three weeks after joining Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the California senator continues to be campaigning largely before a screen to relatively small audiences.

That's going to change. On Monday, Harris will travel to Milwaukee on her behalf first traditional campaign trip. Biden's campaign hasn't yet said what she plans to accomplish in the critical swing state. Her visit to Wisconsin comes after Biden visited Kenosha this past week to meet up with the family of Jacob Blake, who was simply shot by police, and talk to the community about racial justice and protests in the town.

The coronavirus pandemic has radically altered campaigning for Democrats, who, unlike Republicans, are largely avoiding in-person gatherings and organizing digitally.

For Harris, that's so far meant a mix of fundraising and organizing events, along with local press interviews and one speech targeted at President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus. Leaning into her role as the first Black woman on a major party's presidential ticket, Harris has spoken with Black leaders and activists in events that are not available to the press, but she did not travel with Biden to Kenosha.

“She’s been on the road. She’s out herself," Biden said Friday. “I talk with her nearly every day. I consult with her and we work together and I've every confidence in her. There’s nothing about not campaigning together, it’s about having the capacity to cover more territory.”

Harris, who hasn't held a wide-ranging news conference since joining the ticket, was making her first solo Sunday show appearance as the nominee, a taped interview with CNN's “State of the Union.”

According to an excerpt released Saturday, Harris wouldn't normally say directly whether she'd get a coronavirus vaccine if one were ready before Election Day. She also suggested public health experts will be “muzzled" from having the last word in regards to a vaccine's effectiveness.

“I'll say that I'd not trust Donald Trump and it could have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he’s discussing,” she said.

Democratic observers say Harris is indeed far complementing Biden in ways that's expected for a running mate. It's the role of the vice presidential nominee to boost the presidential candidate's agenda, as Harris did, and get in touch with constituencies that may well not be as natural for the nominee, said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who ran communications for Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016.

Vice President Mike Pence, for instance, was chosen partly to help boost Trump's support among evangelical voters, an integral Republican constituency not at first seen as natural Trump allies. Harris, meanwhile, counters the 77-year-old Biden as a 55-year-old Black woman.

“They have similar values, but she also offers had a different experience," Finney said.

In private events in the last fourteen days, Harris has met with Black leaders and activists to thank them because of their support and motivate them as the campaign enters the ultimate stretch. Last Saturday, Harris held one with Black women leaders who had urged Biden to pick a Black woman as his running mate and another with Black men, said Donna Brazile, a former head of the Democratic National Committee, who was simply on the first call, where singer Bebe Winans serenaded Harris along with his song “Born for This."

“We had a wonderful time just showering her with powerful energy for the battles ahead," Brazile said.

Brazile said it'll be important for Harris to get out for non-virtual events “where she can actually see the pulse of people," but she said the digital organizing has created strong enthusiasm. This week, Brazile joined a video call with students from historically black universites and colleges as they spoke about how to boost Harris and hold campus voter registration drives. She's been invited by friends to become listed on organizing sets of suburban women supporting Harris and marveled at the Harris-specific T-shirts and other merchandise persons are creating and selling online.

“She did something to help make the VP seem just like a rock star and persons are simply donating," Brazile said.

The campaign declined release a fundraising numbers for Harris's events, but several organizers said on calls that interest in giving rose sharply when Harris joined the ticket. That's despite her own presidential bid ending this past year before primary voting commenced as she struggled to improve money. Biden raised an archive $365 million in August.

In video calls featuring a large number of donors, Harris talks about Biden and their platform before taking questions on everything from the coronavirus to protest violence and how to proceed if Trump refuses to accept the election results. ("If he's foolish enough to get one of these stunt like that, he'll fail," she said.)

Attendees range between Hollywood powerhouses like TV director Chuck Lorre and actress Kate Hudson to friends and top Kaine donors.

“It’s been increasingly clear that the response from contributors went up drastically when you were named as vice presidential nominee,” Merle Ginsburg, a donor who helped organize a Connecticut-based fundraiser on Tuesday, told Harris.

Beyond raising cash, she's joined calls focused on time for school in Minnesota, mobilizing Black women voters in Detroit and reaching out to Hispanic voters in Miami. In those events, she often gives remarks at the very top and, if she takes questions, takes them from event managers rather than participants. Minnesota, Michigan and Florida are fundamental swing states.

Steve Benjamin, mayor of Columbia, SC, said Friday it makes sense that Harris has been mainly used in a fundraising role thus far but that voters wished to see her more.

“The need for on-the-ground exposure, persons seeing you locally, is so important,” said Benjamin, who in the beginning supported Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 Democratic presidential bid before backing Biden. He joined Harris's private call with Black male leaders, discussing issues like racial injustice and economic inequality. He said he expects you will see opportunities for Harris to get out in swing states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, NEW YORK, Florida and Georgia.

“It matters at this time," he said. “A lot more citizen engagement by Sen. Harris is what people want.”