Zoom-based networks fueling Harris’ early candidacy

When a group of Black women political organizers gathered for a traditional Zoom call on Sunday, they suddenly had a new mission. Hours earlier, President Joe Biden had ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Interest in the call had skyrocketed, with some 40,000 participants tuning in.

The Win With Black Women collective, concerned about Harris facing competition, fiercely pushed back against the idea of ​​an open primary following Biden’s announcement. Organizers urged attendees to waste no time in touting Harris’ record. Although the vice president has been in the spotlight for years, she remains relatively unknown to the general public.

The discussions on the call served to defend Harris — “it’s one thing to have the MAGA world come after you” and “we have to defend our sister,” according to meeting notes shared with POLITICO — and perhaps more importantly, they raised a lot of money.

The Win With Black Women call became a model for other identity groups throughout the week: black men, Latinos, black gay men, white women, white men, and young voters. Calls like these never really caught on for Biden because grassroots enthusiasm for him had faded. Each group organized its own call to support Harris and raise mountains of money for Harris’ campaign. Celebrities including Pink, Mindy Kaling, and Don Cheadle logged onto various calls to lend their support to Harris.

Kamala Harris’s phone calls are an early sign that Harris’ campaign isn’t just inspiring Black women, who share an identity with her. Her nascent campaign is reactivating dormant segments of the Democratic base to act as surrogates, door-knockers and fundraisers in a way that President Joe Biden hasn’t been able to.

The Black Women’s Collective, which is not directly affiliated with Harris’ campaign, first formed in 2020, around the time Biden picked her as his vice president. It helps recruit and advocate for Black women in politics, and quickly realized that Harris’ candidacy had the opportunity to generate grassroots enthusiasm not seen since Barack Obama took office nearly two decades ago.

But it wasn’t just a matter of strategy and organization: The women opened their checkbooks and raised $1.5 million, the group’s largest fundraiser to date.

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

“We’re developing a message and a strategy,” Eaddy told POLITICO. “We’re showing that we can not only raise money, but inspire other people to raise and donate as well.”

A call-in titled “White Women: Answer the Call!” urged the nearly 164,000 participants to have a direct conversation with each other about how to “start persuading” and “use your privilege for good.” Others on the call said Black women have shouldered the overwhelming burden of organizing and supporting “less-than-perfect” candidates because it benefits their families and communities.

“It’s past time for us to stop profiting off their work protecting democracy and start carrying our own weight,” author and podcaster Glennon Doyle proclaimed on the call, during which one woman wore a 2016 “Hillary for President” T-shirt.

Shannon Watts, the lead organizer of the appeal, announced Friday afternoon that the group had raised $8.5 million and that amount was continuing to grow.

At a Zoom meeting of South Asian Women for Harris on Wednesday night, many participants affectionately referred to Harris as their “Indian auntie.” One noted that the group had been dormant for months but had suddenly come back to life with Biden’s ouster and Harris’s rise to the top of the Democratic ticket.

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

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

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

Khalil Thompson, the director of the newly formed Win With Black Men group that helped raise $1.3 million for their appeal for Harris this week, said they wanted to counter the Republican narrative that black men wouldn’t support Harris because she served as a prosecutor in California.

Recent polls show that black men have been abandoning the Democratic Party in recent months, and he hopes Harris can help reverse that trend. But Thompson said he has other reasons to support her candidacy.

“I’m really excited not only about his future presidency, but also about his candidacy and what that means not only for African Americans, but for Caribbean Americans,” Thompson said. “My father is from Jamaica,” he added, as is Harris’ father, Donald Harris.

A call for unity among all identity groups is planned for Sunday evening to align their messages and fundraising.

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