Kamala Harris chooses women of color to lead her campaign

The residents of this city hall, in the image of Iowa's demographics, are almost entirely white. But when she looks at the crowd, DeJear, the owner of a small marketing company who lives in Des Moines, sees her at home. That's why Mr. Harris hired DeJear, who lost in 2018 to become Secretary of State of Iowa, but who has become a cherished child of state democrats.

Think further about the Harris presidential campaign numbers to see a key element of his doctrine: to expand the number of people who will sit and be heard at the decision table.

The Harris campaign revealed that out of 19 executives hired so far, 13 were women and that 11 of them were women of color. The campaign says that they are key decision makers, who will reflect the concerns of a vital demographic group of voters and will also contact them.

"We often see people in politics in a certain frame," says DeJear. "Maybe it's a white man, maybe that's a white woman.But the policy is not limited to these demographics."

Harris, daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, chose to change this setting through her campaign and the people who work there, although she is not the only woman of color to run for the presidency. Representative Shirley Chisholm was the first woman and the first African-American to run for the presidency of a large party by announcing her candidacy in 1972. And this year, representative Tulsi Gabbard, American Samoan, is part of of the group of candidates alongside Harris.

"It was the most diverse piece in which I entered"

"We do not have enough women who decide on public policy to follow," Harris told CNN during his stint in Iowa. "We need greater representation – all of America benefits, just like my campaign.That's why I focused on this issue."

Harris's senior advisor, Emmy Ruiz, has never experienced this before in national politics. "I remember the first meeting I joined," says Ruiz, remembering his start in the Harris campaign after hiring in February. "I was surprised, I was caught off guard, it is the most diverse piece in which I've ever entered politics, and I've been proud of it." to be part of many teams in politics. "

Other 2020 Democrat candidates running for president have selected people from different walks of life for the biggest posts in their campaigns. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren all hired campaign managers who are people of color in the case of Castro, the manager is also a woman, Maya Rupert. But the Harris campaign is remarkable in terms of the number of women and women of color in positions of responsibility.

"It's important that our staff look like America," says Juan Rodriguez, campaign manager at Harris. Rodriguez, the son of immigrants from El Salvador, led the successful 2016 US Senate campaign in Harris and said his boss was, for years, hired for the sake of diversity. "Senator Harris raises and amplifies all voices to ensure that nothing is seen from one narrow point of view, and she ensures that her campaign not only employs people from diverse backgrounds, but in fact also leading decision makers. "

Kelly Dittmar, a researcher at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, calls for Harris' emphasis on "smart politics" diversity.

"This is a strategic solution in that a campaign to appeal to a diverse electorate should match the perspectives, concerns, and experiences of this electorate," said Dittmar, who studies rural and grassroots representation. Congress. "Smart campaigns create a contrast with their opponents." Harris may note that the lack of diversity among Trump camp members is problematic and contrary to the values ​​of her country and those of her.

Make the message accessible

The suggestion of a simultaneous translation does not come from Ruiz, but from another senior adviser, Laphonza Butler, following a principle of the Harris campaign: are we making the message accessible to all? ?

Ruiz, the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a young mother married to a woman, said that the goal of the campaign staff is to make sure that "the collective experiences of all members of our staff really guarantee the defense of all, representation and we do everything possible to ensure that these voices are heard. "

"Nothing is wrong," Butler said, citing Harris's emphasis on hiring women after the historic gains made by women in Congress in 2018. "She chose to The best talents in the country to help communities make their voices heard that have been left for so many years. "

These gains do not come at the expense of the "guy in the Midwest" who was the subject of much debate and who passed to Trump in 2016, voters who responded to his populist message and delivered key votes of the Electoral College of Michigan and Wisconsin, says Butler. "I understand where people can see that's the case, but his vision is that" Justice for All "is not a zero-sum game – no one has to lose for whole communities to win. "

"I reject the idea that you have a conversation with someone from the Midwest, another conversation with someone from the South and another conversation with people living on the coast," he said. she declared.

Despite growing diversity among Democrats, many polls show that the two leaders are two white men: Sanders, 77, and former Vice President Joe Biden, 76, who is expected to participate Thursday in the race .

Dittmar calls the two septuagenarians "the stubbornness of white men's privilege at stake," adding that the flaw, especially in presidential politics, is often that of white men.

"What Harris will do will matter if voters prioritize it as a problem for whom they support the president," Dittmar said. And if that's the case, how and who she engages for her campaign "can help prove her sincerity on principles – that she's not just talking about the importance of fighting marginalization and letting it go." exclusion of certain groups from power, but is actively trying to remedy the current situation in the areas over which it has the most direct control ".