On December 3rd, in a somewhat surprising move, California Senator Kamala Harris dropped out of the Democratic Presidential race. Harris, who at one-time was seen as a top tier candidate, had dropped, registering in only the low single digits.
In an announcement to her supporters published by The New York Times, Harris said, “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue…But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight.”
Times reporters Astead W. Herndon, Shane Goldmacher, and Jonathan Martin noted that “Her departure removes a prominent woman of color from a field that started as the most racially diverse ever in a Democratic primary, and raises the prospect that this month’s debate in Los Angeles will feature no candidates who aren’t white.”
At the beginning of her campaign, Harris was seemingly loved by the public. One reason for this was that her campaign provided a chance at history as a victory would make her the first woman of color, to earn a major party presidential nomination.
As time passed, social media scrutiny of the candidate began and information about Harris began to flood timelines. Her connections to mass incarceration as an Attorney General and District Attorney came to light.
According to Vox, after a dissection of Senator Harris’ past, her stance on mass incarceration created issues for her. “She pushed for programs that helped people find jobs instead of putting them in prison, but also fought to keep people in prison even after they were proved innocent. She refused to pursue the death penalty against a man who killed a police officer, but also defended California’s death penalty system in court. She implemented training programs to address police officers’ racial biases, but also resisted calls to get her office to investigate certain police shootings.”