Top Democrats in Battleground Pennsylvania Are Not Happy with the Harris Campaign: 'Everybody's Very Nervous'
Vice President Kamala Harris may be jeopardizing her chances of securing Pennsylvania, according to some Democrats who are expressing doubts about the campaign’s direction even as the race continues.
“Pennsylvania is such a mess, and it’s incredibly frustrating,” said one unnamed “Democratic elected official in the state,” in a report published by Politico on Wednesday.
This official predicted that Harris would still win Pennsylvania but suggested the victory would come “in spite of the Harris state campaign.”
Harris’s strategy in Pennsylvania focuses on winning big in the metropolitan areas—Philadelphia and Pittsburgh—where many minority voters reside, in order to counterbalance Trump’s advantage in the rural parts of the state.
However, Pennsylvania campaign manager Nikki Lu, a Pittsburgh native, has faced criticism. Ryan Boyer, the first Black leader of Philadelphia’s powerful building trades council, told Politico, “I have concerns about Nikki Lu. I don’t think she understands Philadelphia.”
Another Democratic elected official described Lu as “AWOL,” according to the report.
A Pennsylvania Democratic strategist also told Politico that Lu “empowers a culture” that makes local officials feel neglected.
State Rep. Danilo Burgos, who represents a Philadelphia district, noted that Latino leaders share concerns but added that “things are moving in the right direction” after a meeting with Harris campaign officials.
“Everybody’s very nervous,” Burgos told Politico. “And I think that as we get closer, people get more tense. And they’re more vocal.”
The significance of Pennsylvania for both Harris and former President Donald Trump is highlighted by Elon Musk’s announcement that he would be giving “a series of talks from tomorrow night through Monday” in the state, according to Reuters.
In a column published Monday in the Wall Street Journal, William McGurn highlighted Harris’s struggle to connect with Catholic voters in Pennsylvania, stating that “Her San Francisco progressive persona isn’t a good fit for Joe Biden’s native state.”
McGurn emphasized that in 2020, exit polls showed 30% of Pennsylvania’s voters were Catholic. He also pointed to a recent controversy involving Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a liberal podcaster, who staged a fake communion, as an example of how liberals can be out of touch with Catholic voters.
Harris faces a history of friction with Catholic voters, McGurn argued, quoting Catholic activists. “Throughout her career as a public official, Kamala Harris has long used government power to try to coerce people of faith to violate their consciences, especially regarding abortion and gender ideology,” said Kristen Waggoner, CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom.
CatholicVote president Brian Burch added that Harris cannot rely on the same Democratic support that Joe Biden received in 2020. “Many Catholics in Pennsylvania are Democrats by tradition who might have voted for Joe Biden but have grown increasingly skeptical about their party under Kamala Harris,” Burch stated.