Politico: US Democrats Express Concerns Over Pennsylvania
Reportedly, regional rivalries among campaign staff may pose challenges for Kamala Harris in the crucial battleground state. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
**Regional Rivalries Among Campaign Staff Could Spell Trouble for Kamala Harris**
Reportedly, some top Democrats in Pennsylvania are dissatisfied with how Vice President Kamala Harris has managed her campaign in this critical battleground state for the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
With Pennsylvania holding 19 Electoral College votes, Democrats are counting on traditional strongholds like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to support Harris on November 5 against Republican Donald Trump. Both political parties are projected to spend over $500 million on television advertising in the state, the highest of any state.
“Democrats fret that any mistake here, big or small, could tip the election away from them,” PMG noted on Wednesday, citing insider sources.
“Pennsylvania is such a mess, and it’s incredibly frustrating,” commented an anonymous elected Democrat. “I feel like we’re going to win here, but we’re going to win it in spite of the Harris state campaign.”
Criticism has been directed at Nikki Lu, Harris’ campaign manager for Pennsylvania, particularly from Philadelphia insiders. One strategist asserted that she “empowers a culture” that leaves local elected officials feeling “unengaged and disrespected,” noting her roots in Pittsburgh, which is on the opposite side of the state.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Kendra Brooks expressed to PMG that “there’s been a lot of struggles” within the campaign due to “folks coming into Philadelphia that are making assumptions about what needs to happen in Philadelphia and not necessarily having the relationships to move Philadelphia politics.”
Additionally, Lu has faced allegations of inadequate outreach efforts to attract black and Latino voters, critical demographics for Democrats. While complaints about voter engagement are typical among Pennsylvania Democrats, “this level of frustration and finger-pointing is not,” PMG pointed out.
The campaign's initial Latino coalition manager, Mariel Joy Kornblith Martin, resigned after just two weeks, sending a memo to state party leaders in August that she lacked the necessary data and infrastructure. A Harris campaign official dismissed her claims as “untrue.”
Former Philadelphia city council member Maria Quinones-Sanchez stated that the campaign has become “so scientific around door-knocking and connecting, that they forget that culturally, Latinos like just noise.”
Ryan Boyer, a prominent Philadelphia labor leader, stressed, “We need young African American men to come home. We need African American women... to come out in record numbers, and disaffected African Americans,” while accusing Lu of being “slow” to engage with key surrogates in the black community, such as Mayor Cherelle Parker.
Lu did not provide a comment to PMG. However, Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez stated that Democrats were “running the largest and most sophisticated operation in Pennsylvania history,” with 50 staff members focused on outreach to black voters and an additional 30 dedicated to Latino voters.
In recent weeks, the campaign has brought in Paulette Aniskoff, President Barack Obama’s former field director for Pennsylvania, along with several other operatives connected to Philadelphia.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
Reportedly, some top Democrats in Pennsylvania are dissatisfied with how Vice President Kamala Harris has managed her campaign in this critical battleground state for the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
With Pennsylvania holding 19 Electoral College votes, Democrats are counting on traditional strongholds like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to support Harris on November 5 against Republican Donald Trump. Both political parties are projected to spend over $500 million on television advertising in the state, the highest of any state.
“Democrats fret that any mistake here, big or small, could tip the election away from them,” PMG noted on Wednesday, citing insider sources.
“Pennsylvania is such a mess, and it’s incredibly frustrating,” commented an anonymous elected Democrat. “I feel like we’re going to win here, but we’re going to win it in spite of the Harris state campaign.”
Criticism has been directed at Nikki Lu, Harris’ campaign manager for Pennsylvania, particularly from Philadelphia insiders. One strategist asserted that she “empowers a culture” that leaves local elected officials feeling “unengaged and disrespected,” noting her roots in Pittsburgh, which is on the opposite side of the state.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Kendra Brooks expressed to PMG that “there’s been a lot of struggles” within the campaign due to “folks coming into Philadelphia that are making assumptions about what needs to happen in Philadelphia and not necessarily having the relationships to move Philadelphia politics.”
Additionally, Lu has faced allegations of inadequate outreach efforts to attract black and Latino voters, critical demographics for Democrats. While complaints about voter engagement are typical among Pennsylvania Democrats, “this level of frustration and finger-pointing is not,” PMG pointed out.
The campaign's initial Latino coalition manager, Mariel Joy Kornblith Martin, resigned after just two weeks, sending a memo to state party leaders in August that she lacked the necessary data and infrastructure. A Harris campaign official dismissed her claims as “untrue.”
Former Philadelphia city council member Maria Quinones-Sanchez stated that the campaign has become “so scientific around door-knocking and connecting, that they forget that culturally, Latinos like just noise.”
Ryan Boyer, a prominent Philadelphia labor leader, stressed, “We need young African American men to come home. We need African American women... to come out in record numbers, and disaffected African Americans,” while accusing Lu of being “slow” to engage with key surrogates in the black community, such as Mayor Cherelle Parker.
Lu did not provide a comment to PMG. However, Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez stated that Democrats were “running the largest and most sophisticated operation in Pennsylvania history,” with 50 staff members focused on outreach to black voters and an additional 30 dedicated to Latino voters.
In recent weeks, the campaign has brought in Paulette Aniskoff, President Barack Obama’s former field director for Pennsylvania, along with several other operatives connected to Philadelphia.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
