Kamala Harris asks California Democrats for support, money ahead of high stakes 2024 election

Vice President Kamala Harris returned to her native Northern California Thursday, telling state Democratic officials and donors that they’re in for a tough, tight race against former President Donald Trump.

Trump hasn’t officially won the Republican nomination, but after his double-digit win in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, he and other top Republican have been all but anointing him.

Harris, who was born in Oakland and grew up in the Bay Area, tried to say California mattered in November.

“I, maybe with a bit of bravado, will repeat what I think we all say: so goes California, goes the nation.” California, though, has not voted for a Republican since 1988. Since then, GOP candidates have won three presidential elections with no help from the state.

In her short speech to the California Legislative Democratic Caucus, Harris talked about international concerns over the state of American democracy.

“The leaders of nations around the world and in particular, our allies, came up to me and the first point they made is, ‘I hope you guys are going to be okay,’”

Harris, a former California attorney general and U.S. senator, called the election a “binary” and asked lawmakers to see it as a split screen: On one side is Trump, who “openly applauds dictators” and has suggested he plans to use the U.S. Department of Justice to take revenge on political enemies.

On the other side is Biden and his accomplishments and “competence, compassion, skill, and performance.”

The California Republican Party criticized the Biden-Harris Administration in a statement about Harris’ visit.

“Californians are worse off today because of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” said CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson.

“In between raising money and touting their disastrous policies in the Golden State today, Harris should spare a few minutes to answer some burning questions that Californians are eager to ask: Why has she failed to secure the Southern border as Biden’s border czar?” Patterson said.

“The only real question we don’t need help answering is why Kamala Harris is among the least popular Democrats in the nation. Her failed, radical record explains it all,” she added.

Harris’ approval rating is currently at 41.8%, according to a recent YouGov poll, a level she’s flirted with for some time. The poll surveyed 1,500 respondents and has a margin of error of 4-5%.

The vice president on Thursday celebrated the progress she says California has made under Biden’s leadership.

Harris drew attention to everything California is getting from Biden initiatives, such as funds from the federal infrastructure bill and the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to bolster the domestic semiconductor industry.

She also highlighted the Biden administration’s effort to negotiate Medicare drug prices for seniors.

A visit with Sacramento donors

The Sacramento stop was part of a West Coast tour for the vice president, who was in Southern California on Wednesday and flew to the capital Thursday morning.

Harris will head to Las Vegas over the weekend and return to Northern California on Monday with a stop in San Jose for her abortion rights speaking tour, which launched in Wisconsin earlier this week.

But before leaving Sacramento, she visited some prominent Democrats at a fundraising event at the home of real estate millionaire Angelo Tsakopoulos.

A small group of donors gathered in the sitting room to listen to her remarks. Attendees included Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May and Sacramento State President Lake Wood.

Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who is also running for governor in 2026, introduced Harris. Tsakopoulos, a well-known Democratic donor and fundraiser, is Kounalakis’s father.

Kounalakis said she and her family had previously hosted former President Bill Clinton when he was in office.

“It is a very serious and scary moment ... The reality is that a few governments, a few swing states are going to determine the way that we live here in California,” she said.

Harris echoed many of the remarks she made to lawmakers earlier in the day before telling donors she is “hitting the road full time” in 2024.

She said “everything is at stake” in the November presidential race.

“I am fully aware what this is going to require,” she said of the upcoming election cycle. “It’s going to take a lot from all of us. And it is worth it. We love our country.”