Harris’ Zoom-fueled campaign triggers a dormant Democratic base

When a group of Black women political organizers assembled for a regular Zoom call on Sunday, they suddenly had a new mission. A mere hours earlier, President Joe Biden had ended his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Interest in the call had skyrocketed, and some 40,000 attendees logged on.

The Win With Black Women collective, nervous that Harris would be facing competition, ferociously pushed back on the idea of an open primary in the wake of Biden's announcement. Organizers urged attendees that there was "no time to waste" and that they must tout Harris' record. Although the vice president had been in the public eye for years, she was still relatively unknown to the public.

Discussions on the call marshaled a defense of Harris — "it's a thing to have MAGA world chasing you" and "we need to defend our sister," according to meeting notes shared with POLITICO — and perhaps more importantly, raised a lot of money.

The Win With Black Women call became a blueprint for other identity-based groups over the week — Black men, Latinas, Black queer men, white women, white men and young voters. Calls like these were never really available to Biden because the base's enthusiasm for him had faded. Each group held their own call to boost Harris and raise mountains of cash for Harris' campaign. Celebrities, including Pink, Mindy Kaling and Don Cheadle, logged on to various calls to lend their support to Harris.

The copycat calls were an early sign that Harris' campaign isn't just inspiring to Black women, who shared an identity with her. Her nascent campaign is reactivating dormant parts of the Democratic base to act as surrogates, door-knockers and fundraisers in a way that President Joe Biden couldn't.

The Black women collective — which is not directly affiliated with the Harris campaign — first assembled in 2020 around the time Biden selected her as his vice president. It helps recruit and advocate for Black women in politics, and soon realized that the Harris candidacy had the opportunity to inspire the sort of grassroots excitement not seen since Barack Obama arrived on the scene nearly two decades ago.

It wasn't just strategy and organization, though; women opened their checkbooks and raised $1.5 million, in the group's largest cash haul to date.

Jotaka Eaddy, a founder of Win With Black Woman, joked that they probably could have raised even more if they had thought to do so before hour three of the four-hour virtual gathering, when attorney and television personality Star Jones dropped a fundraising link into the group chat around 11:40 p.m. ET.

“We develop message, we develop strategy,” Eaddy told POLITICO. “We show that we not only can we raise money, but we can inspire others to raise and give as well.”

A Thursday evening call dubbed “White Women: Answer The Call!” implored the roughly 164,000 attendees to have a direct conversation with one another about how to “start persuading” and “use your privilege for good.” Others on the call said that Black women have carried the overwhelming burden of organizing and backing “far from perfect” candidates because it was beneficial for their families and communities.

“It’s beyond time for us to stop freeloading on their labor in protecting democracy and start carrying our own weight,” author and podcaster Glennon Doyle proclaimed during the call, which included one woman wearing a 2016 "Hillary for President" T-shirt.

Shannon Watts, the lead organizer for that call, announced as of Friday afternoon the group raised $8.5 million and counting.

During a Zoom gathering of South Asian Women for Harris on Wednesday evening, many attendees affectionately referred to Harris as their “Indian Auntie.” One remarked that the group had been dormant for months, but was suddenly rejuvenated with Biden out of the race and Harris ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket.

Kaling, the actress and producer of “The Office” and “The Mindy Project,” chimed in on the Asian American call to highlight issues Harris has advocated for, including student loan forgiveness and access to abortion, but added that her candidacy could be transformative for Indian American women.

“Culturally, I was raised to keep my head down and to not make a stir,” said the mother of three. “I know that people can relate to that, but that is the opposite of what Kamala Harris has done with her life, and I love her for that.”

Longtime Democratic strategist Maria Cardona joined the Latina 4 Harris call this week, telling POLITICO many on the call referred to Harris as a "comadre" or "hermana" with many sharing anecdotes about how Harris has long been an advocate for them and their families — some of whom remain the shadows.

Khalil Thompson, the executive of the newly formed “Win With Black Men” that helped raise $1.3 million on their call for Harris this week, said they wanted to fight back against the Republican narrative that Black men won’t support Harris because she served as a prosecutor in California.

Recent polls show Black men have been slipping away from the Democratic Party in recent months, which he hopes Harris can help reverse. But Thompson said he's got other reasons for supporting her candidacy.

“I am really excited about not only her future presidency, but her candidacy and what it means not just for African Americans, but also for Caribbean Americans,” Thompson said.“My dad's from Jamaica,” he added, just like Harris’ father Donald Harris.

A unity call among all of the identity groups is scheduled for Sunday evening to align their messaging and fundraising.

Eugene Daniels, Sally Goldenberg and Daniella Cheslow contributed to this report.