Democrats Warn Harris’s Campaign in Key State Is “Such a Mess”

Pennsylvania Democrats are sounding the alarm that Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign may be mismanaged, Politico reported Wednesday. 

“I feel like we’re going to win here, but we’re going to win it in spite of the Harris state campaign,” said a Democratic elected official in the state, who, like others for this story, was granted anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive matter. “Pennsylvania is such a mess, and it’s incredibly frustrating.”

Specifically, it seems that Pennsylvania Democratic leaders are worried about the efforts of one person in particular: Nikki Lu, Harris’s campaign manager in the state.

Ryan Boyer, the first Black leader of Philadelphia’s powerful building trade council, spoke on the record about his worries over the campaign management. “I have concerns about Nikki Lu,” Boyer told Politico. “I don’t think she understands Philadelphia.”

Others criticized Lu for failing to connect with state Democratic leaders. A second Democratic state official described Lu as “AWOL,” while a Pennsylvania Democratic strategist told Politico that Lu “empowers a culture” in Harris’s presidential camp that has left elected officials feeling left out in the cold. 

Late last month, Latino and Black Democratic leaders met with officials from the Harris campaign to discuss their concerns, according to five people who attended or were briefed on the proceedings. Officials asked for increased presence at local events, improved surrogate operation, and a more sophisticated approach for engaging with diverse voting blocs. 

Harris’s national campaign manager Julie Rodriguez Chavez responded to criticism of Harris’s Pennsylvania campaign, saying that they were running “the largest and most sophisticated operation in Pennsylvania history.” 

“We have 50 coordinated offices and nearly 400 staff on the ground,” she said, touting the large investments the campaign has made in advertising  and outreach targeting Black and Latino voters. Both presidential campaigns have spent more in Pennsylvania than in any other state in the country. 

In recent weeks, Harris’s campaign has been joined by Paulette Aniskoff, who served as a field director for Barack Obama in 2008. Democratic leaders have been enthusiastic about Aniskoff’s presence and what they view as a softening of Lu’s authority in the campaign. Leaders were also encouraged by the work of two advisers, Brendan McPhillips and Kellan White, whom they saw as having a strong understanding of Philadelphia voters. 

While Harris needs to shore up support in Democratic-leaning Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the surrounding suburbs, the vice president’s campaign has devoted significant resources toward attracting disaffected Republican voters throughout the state. 

Aniskoff seems all for it. “I do think these suburban folks—Nikki Haley folks—are very uncomfortable with Trump, uncomfortable with all of his crazy shit, and we have such a great opening,” she said. 

Unsurprisingly, that seems to involve cavorting with Republicans, which could explain why Democratic leaders appear to feel a little iced out. 

On Wednesday, Harris spoke in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where she was joined by former Georgia Republican Lieutenant Governor Jeff Duncan, as well as Olivia Troye, former Homeland Security adviser to Mike Pence. Troye previously spoke at the Democratic National Convention and was Harris’s guest at her presidential debate in September. 

Harris held a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Monday, where she called Trump “increasingly unstable and unhinged.” Both Erie and Bucks County supported President Joe Biden in 2020.