Kamala and the Communists: Examining Her Socialist Ties
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is reaching out to socialist Democrats and pro-Palestinian activists as she positions herself for a potential 2028 presidential run.
According to Byron York writing in Washington Examiner, Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate and prominent Democratic Socialists of America member, confirmed he has been in contact with Harris in recent months. His reaction to her outreach appeared notably tepid.
“The vice president reached out to have a conversation, and we’ve had a brief conversation,” Mamdani stated on a podcast this week. “We’ve been in touch over the last few months, and I really do appreciate her outreach.” His tone suggested politeness rather than enthusiasm.
The outreach makes strategic sense for Harris. If she harbors serious ambitions for the 2028 Democratic nomination, she cannot afford to completely alienate the party’s increasingly powerful socialist and communist factions, which have gained considerable influence over Democratic politics in recent years.
Harris has reportedly been conducting lengthy private meetings with other prominent progressive activists, with particular focus on pro-Palestinian groups. This effort appears designed to rehabilitate her image among radical left activists who were disappointed by her relative silence when President Joe Biden supported Israel following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
The former vice president is apparently attempting to convince these activists that she secretly sympathized with their anti-Israel position all along, despite her public stance during the Gaza conflict.
Her challenge is substantial. When Darializa Avila Chevalier, a rising star in the socialist movement, scrubbed her social media accounts of inflammatory content, one deleted post from June 2021 read, “F*** Kamala Harris.” Another pro-Palestinian activist bluntly asked why anyone should trust her now.
Harris currently leads early polling for the 2028 Democratic nomination. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows her 10 points ahead of Gavin Newsom, 15 points ahead of Pete Buttigieg, 16 points ahead of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 21 points ahead of Josh Shapiro, 22 points ahead of Mark Kelly, and 24 points ahead of both Andy Beshear and JB Pritzker.
However, as York argues in Washington Examiner, Harris faces three fundamental obstacles. First, polls taken this far before the election carry little predictive value. Second, she proved herself to be an exceptionally weak candidate in 2024. Third, the Democratic Party has a clear pattern of rejecting failed presidential nominees.
The party declined to renominate Al Gore after his 2000 loss, showed no interest in John Kerry following his 2004 defeat, and quickly shut down any trial balloons from Hillary Clinton after 2016. The last Democrat to receive a second nomination after losing was Adlai Stevenson, who lost to Dwight D. Eisenhower in both 1952 and 1956.
That historical precedent does not bode well for Harris. Yet her courtship of the party’s socialist wing reveals where Democrats believe the energy and future of their movement lies. When a recent presidential nominee feels compelled to court communist-aligned activists, it demonstrates how far left the Democratic center of gravity has shifted.
Whether these efforts will yield any meaningful support remains doubtful. The far-left appears unconvinced by Harris’s sudden attention, and party history suggests her comeback bid faces insurmountable obstacles.
With information from Washington Examiner
