Kamala Harris’s 2020 Message Seemed to Be Working in Vegas

Kamala Harris rose through the political ranks as a prosecutor in California. But as Harris, now a U.S. senator, runs for the Democratic nomination for president, her background is making some in the party question her progressive credentials. Harris has tried to flip that narrative, most recently during a two-day swing through Las Vegas. When her own family was skeptical about her decision to become a prosecutor, she told guests at the 100 Black Men of America gala on June 14, she reassured them—and by extension 2020 voters—“I want to be the person who helps fix things, and I’ve grown up knowing the biases that have informed our criminal justice system.” Most of those who took part in the blitz of campaign events and appearances Harris made over the course of the weekend were still undecided, which doesn’t mean much this early in the campaign, especially when so many candidates are vying for attention. But they seemed to be buying Harris’s message.

Jackie Harris, 54, had listened to Harris’s memoir, The Truths We Hold, on audio book and liked what she said about being a “progressive prosecutor.” A therapist who works with people in the Las Vegas criminal justice system, Harris (no relation to the Harris running for president) particularly likes the crime-prevention programs she initiated. “There's such a need,” Harris said. “So many people in the criminal justice system are dealing with mental health issues, substance abuse issues.” But Harris is not among those in the left wing of the Democratic party who view the entire system with suspicion: “When there are crimes, people do need punishment,” she said. Among her patients are also victims of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 people at an outdoor concert. “We need to make change,” she said. “This cannot go on.”