
Former Kamala Harris Staffer Blasts the Campaign on Her Way Out the Door
In a letter obtained by The New York Times, the California operations director for Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign offered a blistering assessment of the senator’s organization, saying in her resignation that she’s never seen a campaign “treat its staff so poorly” in her life as a political operative.
Kelly Mehlenbacher said in her letter that while she still stands behind Sen. Harris and considers her the “strongest candidate” in the race, the former prosecutor will have to do something about her campaign structure if she wants to have a shot at the nomination.
“This is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly,” Mehlenbacher wrote. “While I still believe that Senator Harris is the strongest candidate to win in the General Election in 2020, I no longer have confidence in our campaign or its leadership.
“It is not acceptable to me that we encouraged people to move from Washington, DC to Baltimore only to lay them off with no notice, with no plan for the campaign, and without thoughtful consideration of the personal consequences to them or the consequences that their absence would have on the remaining staff,” she continued.
Adding insult to injury, Mehlenbacher actually left the Harris campaign to join up with Michael Bloomberg, who threw his hat into the 2020 ring last weekend. This may sting double, since one of the main things holding Harris back is a campaign unable to pay for itself. Having started off like a rocket, Harris has struggled to maintain a healthy poll showing since announcing her candidacy. This has only been compounded by her campaign’s inability to raise money, pay for advertising, or even garner headlines. Bloomberg, thanks to his personal wealth, will have no problem paying for as much advertising as he wants.
The Harris campaign issued a statement assuring supporters that they were, you know, doing their best.
“Our team, from the candidate to organizers across the country, are working day in and out to make sure Kamala is the nominee to take on Donald Trump and end the national nightmare that is his presidency,” said a campaign spokesman. “Just like every campaign, we have made tough decisions to have the resources we need to place in Iowa and springboard into the rest of the primary calendar.”
Current polling averages have Harris way out of contention, sitting at a mere 4% level of support nationally.