How Kamala Harris Impacts CA Races in 2024

President Joe Biden — after months of speculation about his health, chances against former President Donald Trump, and ability to deliver down-ballot victories for Democrats across the country — withdrew from his reelection bid and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to take his spot as the Democratic nominee. 

Not only was this a major shakeup in the presidential race in 2024, but it also will have a massive effect on down-ballot races. But how will it affect California specifically?

Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California and a candidate for State Assembly, says that prior to Biden dropping out, “This election cycle had been shaping up to be a very, very good one for us in California and we had a real shot at ending the Democrats’ supermajority control of our state!”

DeMaio and Reform California see a Kamala Harris ticket impacting that momentum in the following ways, and they have a plan to address it:

1. THE REAL REASON DEMOCRATS DITCHED BIDEN: By all accounts, the real reason Democrats ditched Biden was not to win the Presidency, but to limit the damage to their down ticket House and Senate candidates, says DeMaio. All the polling suggested a Biden ticket would depress Democrat turnout in November – especially among African American voters – hence why they feel forced to stick with Kamala Harris despite her weakness. 

2. WHY IT WON'T WORK IN CA: Data shows California voters aren't just rejecting Biden, they are rejecting CA Democrats – with 65% of voters saying the state is on the "wrong track." That isn't fixed by putting Harris on top of the ticket, says DeMaio. In addition, in the seats Republicans have the best chance to win, the Latino voters are the ones most in play and nothing in the data suggests they will be energized by Kamala Harris to vote Democrat!

3. HOW THIS IMPACTS OUR PLAN IN CA: DeMaio and Reform California are confident in their campaign strategy for 2024 and a Kamala Harris Democrat ticket changes nothing in their plan. In fact, Reform California will be ramping up criticism of Kamala Harris' hidden record of fraud and failure here in California when she was DA of San Francisco and the state’s Attorney General. See video podcast here.

“Bottomline: Democrats knew a wave election was building and they desperately dumped Joe Biden as an attempt to change that,” said DeMaio. “But nothing suggests their switch will impact us much in CA – or nationally for that matter.”

But DeMaio says that even though there is a red wave building, Republicans can only win in California if they get enough resources to wage competitive campaigns.

That’s why DeMaio is calling on the public to join the campaign to help compile hand-addressed personalized mailers to target voters in seats across California, recruit college and high school students as they return to campus and amass an army of canvassers to go door-to-door, and research and report on more of Harris’ failed record over the years.