A powerful left-wing lobbying group has announced a $10 million campaign to boost the image of beleaguered Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a Sunday report from Politico.
Emily’s List, an abortion-focused political action committee (PAC), said it would fund an effort to boost Harris’ public standing, according to Politico. The group will spend “tens of millions” of dollars to assist Harris in the 2024 campaign.
Harris is widely expected to play an unusually significant role in the upcoming election given President Joe Biden’s age, with Republicans planning to weaponize the possibility of a Harris presidency against Democrats in the 2024 presidential election, according to the outlet. The PAC will purportedly use the funds to defend Harris’ record. (RELATED: Where Has Kamala Harris Been For Seven Months?)
Harris has been unpopular during her time as VP, with just 36.7 percent approval among Americans and 56 percent disapproval rating, according to polling data compiled by FiveThirtyEight. Her rating lags behind Biden’s 41 percent approval and 55.2 percent disapproval rating, according to data from the same site. Harris is also notably less popular than previous vice presidents. Harris is 9.1 points less popular than former Vice President Mike Pence as of June 2023, and 13.3 points less popular than former Vice President J0e Biden at the same point in their presidency, according to data from the Los Angeles Times.
EMILY’s List, the political action committee whose aim is to elect female candidates supportive of abortion rights, says it will be spending “tens of millions of dollars” to defend and prop up Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. https://t.co/YioZBjb3d7
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) June 11, 2023
“She is a boogeyman that Republicans can [and will] use when it comes to pushing their message,” an unnamed senior Republican strategist told Politico. The strategist remained anonymous to discuss the election freely. “A President Harris would be even worse than a President Biden because she campaigned as a progressive fighter and had to moderate herself when she became Biden’s running mate. And to be completely frank, she’s smart. She’s an accomplished prosecutor. She was a United States senator. And she does have the resume to match.”
EMILY’s List president Laphonza Butler told Politico the organization would try to reach a wide range of voters.
“Some age groups and demographics get their information from things like YouTube or from TikTok. For some demographics, they are much more interpersonal and in terms of how they get and disseminate information,” Butler said.
Harris has reportedly struggled to define herself during her time in the Biden administration. The Vice President has purportedly suffered strained relations with Biden’s team over an alleged lack of support from the White House and being tasked with “difficult” assignments. Biden tapped Harris to respond to the migration crisis at the southern border in 2021, a task many believe is intractable. Reports surfaced in December 2021 that Harris is a bad boss who “berates” her aides and consistently appears “unprepared” due to not going through her briefing materials, according to The Washington Post.