In a grand return after becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris returned to California on Sunday and rejoiced in being surrounded by supporters she has known for decades, while warning of a bleak future for the nation if Democrats don’t win in November.
“It’s good to be home,” Harris told 700 people who cheered and jumped to their feet as she took the stage in a San Francisco hotel ballroom. “This room is filled with dear friends and longtime supporters, people I’ve known since the beginning of my career. … We’ve been through a lot together. I want to thank everyone here for your love, your support, your longtime friendship and your dedication to this country.”
The mood at the fundraiser was warm and upbeat — one woman in the front row held up a sign that read “Make America Joyful Again.” But Harris turned serious as she argued that fundamental rights like health care, same-sex marriage and abortion were at stake in the race against former President Trump.
“We know what we have to do: we have to knock on doors, we have to register people to vote, we have to get people to the polls. And every day counts,” she said. “That’s why we’re going to win, but let’s not take anything for granted.”
The event, which brought together House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Rep. Barbara Lee, San Francisco Giants general manager Larry Baer and a host of other elected officials and donors, raised more than $12 million in the city that launched Harris’ political career. Tickets range from $3,300 to $500,000.
Harris worked as a prosecutor and attorney at San Francisco City Hall before being elected district attorney in 2002, which served as a springboard to her later roles as state attorney general and then U.S. senator.
“This is a great day for us to welcome Kamala Harris back to her home in California,” said Nancy Pelosi, who introduced the vice president. “She makes us all so proud, she brings us so much joy, she gives us so much hope.”
The event had the feel of a family reunion. Harris’s niece’s young children posed for photos in front of a large Harris/Walz campaign sign on the stage. She called out to several attendees from the stage, paying most attention to Newsom. She recalled the day in 2004 when they were sworn in in San Francisco, she as district attorney and he as mayor, and their work that year marrying gay couples.
“I have known Gavin as a friend and colleague for many, many years,” she said. “I want to thank you in front of all of our friends here for being an extraordinary leader for California and the nation.”
The event capped three eventful weeks of presidential campaigning, with President Biden announcing he would not seek reelection, Democrats quickly rallying behind the vice president as her nominee and Harris choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
In Biden’s first interview since announcing he would not seek another term, he said his decision was driven by the importance of beating Trump, concerns among some members of the House and Senate that he could hurt their chances and that his candidacy could “be a real distraction.”
“For me, the most important thing is to preserve this democracy,” he said in an interview that aired on CBS Sunday. “It’s a great honor to be president, but I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I want to do, the most important thing that we can do, which is we have to defeat Trump.”
Harris and Walz spent the past week touring key states, events that drew large crowds.
“People come to these events and they bring a lot of joy. People are singing and dancing in the aisles long before we get here,” Harris said. “They come not only because we need to defeat Donald Trump, but because they believe in our country and our freedom.”
On Saturday, Democrats picked up the endorsement of the powerful Las Vegas restaurant workers union, and Harris announced her support for not taxing tips — a proposal that is wildly popular among service workers and backed by Trump in June.
“Impersonator Kamala directly plagiarized President Trump’s proposed no-tax tip policy aimed at allowing service industry workers to keep more of their own hard-earned money,” the Republican campaign said in a statement.
Sunday’s fundraiser also came four years to the day Biden chose her as his running mate, months after Harris’ failed 2020 presidential campaign.
“This is the best decision I’ve ever made,” Biden wrote in a fundraising appeal. “Kamala is smart. She’s tough. She’s going to be a great president.”
California Republicans chose the location of Sunday’s fundraiser to cast doubt on Democratic leadership and highlight dysfunction in San Francisco.
“For those unsure what a Harris presidency would look like, take a moment to visit her hometown where crime is rampant, homelessness is visible on every corner, and storefronts and offices sit empty as businesses close and people leave with no intention of returning,” state GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement.
Given California’s strong blue tilt, there won’t be a November election. But it’s home to so many wealthy donors that it provides the most campaign funds to candidates on both sides of the political spectrum. Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio recently headlined two fundraisers in the state. On Tuesday, Walz is scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Newport Beach, the same day that second gentleman Doug Emhoff raises money at an event in Los Angeles.
Susie Tompkins Buell, co-founder of Esprit and The North Face, who has known Harris since the 1990s, said she couldn’t remember the last time she saw this much energy among Democrats, which she attributed to Harris’ candidacy as well as the “danger to our country from within” posed by the prospect of Trump winning another term.
“Kamala’s youthful, positive energy is like a breath of fresh air on a humid, sweltering day. It’s so refreshing and hopeful,” said Tompkins Buell, whose husband served as Harris’ finance chairman during her campaigns for district attorney and attorney general.
“She’s been a big part of our community for years,” Smith added. “I’m really impressed with her consistency. She’s confident and her style has always stayed the same, it’s just gotten better. It’s impressive.”
