Big-name endorsements are prized currency when it comes to winning an election – and perhaps a little more so when it comes to a primary contest. After all, backing from a political Big Beast demonstrates that the party is behind you and your fledgling campaign. But what happens when the endorsement is tainted goods? With Alaska holding its nonpartisan primary today (Aug. 18), former Vice President Kamala Harris may have just discovered that she’s an unwelcome guest in the Last Frontier.
Open Primary or Open Wounds?
Alaska’s nonpartisan primary operates somewhat differently from most. With 16 candidates on the ballot in an open primary, just four will advance to the state’s ranked-choice Senate election this November. Traditionally, Alaska is not a safe space for Democratic Party hopefuls and has not returned a senator to Washington, DC, for more than ten years. Former US Rep. Mary Peltola is hoping to change that. And yet it seems that in her quest to oust two-term Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, not all offers of help are equal.
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Kamala Harris decided to publicly throw her weight behind Peltola via a fundraising mailer from her Fight for the People PAC. She wrote, “If there’s anyone who can flip Alaska and secure the Senate majority for Democrats — it’s Mary.” But, of course, any funds forthcoming go directly to Harris’ PAC rather than the Alaskan hopeful. The Peltola campaign made clear just how welcome such a convenient coattailing was:
“Mary isn’t seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48 — her focus is and always will be Alaska.”
The New York Times reports that the campaign “did not approve the email from Ms. Harris’s organization, and that it had no knowledge about it before it was sent out.” The question occurs: Is it any support from beyond Alaska that is being eschewed, or is it just Kamala?
Kamala — A Favorite No One Favors
Harris remains the clear leader in an increasingly crowded field of potential 2028 Democrat contenders for president. Much of this is due to her national name recognition. And, of course, she was one step (or bicycle spill or ice-cream accident) from the top spot for four years. Currently, she is an average of 11.2% ahead of her closest rival, Gavin Newsom. However, top spot in polls doesn’t directly translate to support across the nation.
Ironically – given that Kamala’s overtures are being made to Peltola through a funding vehicle – it is the big donors who were first to alight from the Kamala train. As former Democratic National Committee fundraiser Lindy Li told Fox News recently, “Kamala Harris is living in fantasyland ... [thinking] that big donors would bet on her again. She should just go away because the American people do not want her agenda.”
Liberty Nation News’ Kelli Ballard succinctly explained the dilemma:
“Polls may put her name at the top of the Democratic heap for now, but presidential campaigns run on more than name recognition and ambition. If some of the people who helped bankroll the last ride are already eyeing other horses in the 2028 race, Harris may discover that tossing her pantsuit into the ring is a whole lot easier than finding someone willing to pick up the tab.”
The conclusion seems fairly clear: Kamala Harris is a millstone around the neck of the Democratic Party's future. Donors refuse to pick up the phone for her, candidates in places such as Alaska – even when polling indicates an old-fashioned razor’s-edge contest – rebuff her nod, and black female voters are the only ones propping up her stock.
Politics is a difficult business, and on a long enough timeline, the prognosis for any political career looks grim. It’s win some, lose some. But becoming an albatross is perhaps the most humiliating epitaph for any who try to stay in the Swamp beyond their personal sell-by date.
