Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walters: Can Kamala Harris Break the Jinx?
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 6 years ago on
September 1, 2019

Share

While California is the nation’s most populous and richest state – and has been for a half-century – it hasn’t wielded the level of national political power one might expect from that status.
New York, still the nation’s financial center, and Texas, California’s chief cultural and economic rival, have been much more successful in projecting themselves nationally.


Dan Walters
CALmatters

Opinion
That’s been especially true in presidential politics.
New Yorker Donald Trump sits in the White House, having defeated New Yorker Hillary Clinton three years ago. The Bush family from Texas won the presidency three times in the last three decades. But California hasn’t produced a viable presidential candidate in nearly four decades.
In recent years, presidential hopefuls from both parties have treated California like a political ATM machine, tapping into the state’s moneyed elite, but only rarely campaigning here.
The state’s politicians, miffed at being ignored, are trying to become important presidential players by advancing the state’s presidential primary from June to March, but while it has generated more face time, it’s still uncertain whether California’s early primary and its rich trove of Democratic convention delegates will play a decisive role.

Three Californians Made It to the White House in the 20th Century

One who hopes it does is Kamala Harris, California’s first-term junior senator, who is struggling to survive in the cast-of-thousands field of Democratic presidential hopefuls, and is counting on a big win in her home state seven months hence.
However, after making an early splash, her prospects have become cloudy and she could join the list of Californians whose presidential ambitions have faltered.
The list begins with explorer-soldier John Fremont, who was one of the state’s first two senators upon its being admitted to the union in 1850 and was the Republican Party’s first presidential candidate in 1856.
Three Californians made it to the White House in the 20th century – Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, all Republicans. But other Californians failed to make it, such as Earl Warren, Jerry Brown (who ran three times), Alan Cranston, Pete Wilson and Eric Garcetti. And several others with ambitions stopped short of actually running, such as Hiram Johnson, Pat Brown and William Knowland.
So can Harris break what is almost a jinx?
At the moment, Harris’ candidacy appears to be, as a lengthy Sacramento Bee analysis puts it, “stuck in neutral.”

Harris Now Finds Herself Sliding in the Polls

Throughout her political career, Harris has skated by on her resume and mediagenic personality, but has been averse to political risk – reminiscent of former Gov. Gray Davis’ penchant for ducking difficult, no-win issues.

There’s still a long way to go, and Harris isn’t out of it. But at the moment, she’s more likely to join California’s list of presidential also-rans than its roster of presidents.
Davis learned the hard way that risk aversion is the riskiest political approach when voters recalled him in 2003 for bollixing energy and budget crises. Harris may be getting the same lesson as she tries to tiptoe through the space between the Democratic establishment, personified by former Vice President Joe Biden, and the party’s noisy left wingers, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Having once been the Democratic flavor of the week, Harris now finds herself sliding in the polls into the second tier of candidates and is in danger of not making the cut when the large field is winnowed down to a half-dozen or so finalists.
Why the decline? As The Bee article points out, Harris’ ever-shifting positions, such as her muddied stance on “Medicare-for-all,” projects the image of someone who approaches politics with her manicured finger in the wind, lacking principle or consistency.
There’s still a long way to go, and Harris isn’t out of it. But at the moment, she’s more likely to join California’s list of presidential also-rans than its roster of presidents.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.
[activecampaign form=31]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

DON'T MISS

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

DON'T MISS

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

DON'T MISS

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

DON'T MISS

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

We Need Proof of Life for the Makeup Artist Trump Sent to El Salvador

UP NEXT

As Harris Ponders Run for CA Governor, Is She Prepared for the Daunting Job?

UP NEXT

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

UP NEXT

Given Its Failures, Can California Manage a Transition to a Carbon-Free Future?

UP NEXT

Over a Century Later, California May Need Another Revolt Against Its Utility Companies

UP NEXT

California’s Economy Was Already Sluggish Before Trump’s Global Tariffs

UP NEXT

Will Fresno Unified Sacrifice Another Generation of Students? The Choice Is Ours

UP NEXT

What if There’s No Way to Stop Trump’s Approach to Power?

UP NEXT

Zakaria Draws Parallels Between Trump’s Tariffs, Failed 1930s Economic Policies

UP NEXT

Americans Haven’t Found a Satisfying Alternative to Religion

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

10 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

10 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

13 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

14 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

14 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

14 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

14 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

14 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

14 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

15 hours ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Russia’s escalating bombardment of Ukraine had left him concerned that Russia did not want to end ...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

9 hours ago

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

9 hours ago

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

10 hours ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

10 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

13 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

14 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

14 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend