Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has spent the week since the first Democratic debate riding high, with poll numbers and fundraising totals that match her newly competitive status in the field.
But with her ascendance, one particular part of her record has come under attack from the left and the right, condensed into a slogan used by both ends of the political spectrum.
“Kamala is a cop.”
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Harris has known her record as a prosecutor would be a subject of debate in an increasingly progressive field of candidates. Even former Vice President Joe Biden jabbed her previous occupation during the now famous tense exchange at the first Democratic debate.
Progressive critics of Harris acknowledge that the decision of the historically pro-law enforcement right to engage in the attack is a cynical ploy, even if they agree her record needs a closer look.
“They’re not coming from a genuine place at all,” Anoa Changa, a progressive political strategist, said about attacks on Harris’ prosecutorial record by the GOP. “The motive matters.”
Republicans have traditionally favored a tough-on-crime position. And President Trump has worked to amplify pro-police rhetoric. But in attacking Harris, conservatives are borrowing messaging straight out of the progressive playbook.
“Her law and order record would be a concern if she stood a chance of making it through the progressive winnowing process,” Michael Caputo, a 2016 campaign adviser for President Trump, told The Daily Beast. “We will bring in her more recent positions, which are in stark contrast to her record. It comes at our advantage.”
Harris has made significant gains with voters after her debate performance. A recent Quinnipiac University survey shows Harris receiving 20 percent support with Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters, earning a double-digit increase since last month. And with the polling bump, donors have also taken note. Her campaign says she raised nearly $12 million in Q2 from more than 279,000 people.
But as she continues to gain traction in the Democratic primary, Republicans of all stripes—from right-wing internet stars to party groups and conservative media outlets—have pushed the Kamala is “a cop” narrative with new intensity.
“It is disingenuous for Kamala Harris to portray herself as being woke on the issue,” CJ Pearson, a young African-American conservative activist who supports Trump, said. “This is an issue that will continue to come up.”
The Republican National Committee, the GOP’s official party apparatus, has been compiling documents outlining aspects of Harris’ past positions that they believe have not received enough attention.
“Kamala Harris’ prosecutorial record is a liability for her, and both Democrats and Republicans know that,” a senior official at the RNC told The Daily Beast. “Harris has made a career of consistently running away from her record.”
America Rising, the preeminent conservative opposition-research firm, has a web page dedicated to Harris’ record, with a particular emphasis on her role as California’s attorney general and as a district attorney in San Francisco.
“Now that Harris is embracing her record she will have a lot of explaining to do on how exactly she was a ‘progressive prosecutor,’” one article states. Others spotlight her stances on school truancy and the death penalty. One conservative news outlet, The Federalist, is selling limited-edition “Kamala is a cop” T-shirts.
But as Republicans continue to dip into progressives’—and libertarian—messaging, liberal activists, many of whom have said they are unconcerned with the GOP’s own strategy, are flagging her record as well.
At a town hall in Iowa on Wednesday, Harris was asked directly about her work as a law enforcement official. “Frankly there are those who would like to put my experience as a prosecutor into a negative,” Harris started. “But I'm going to tell you as a prosecutor, I’m very proud of my record.”
Her answer embodies much of what’s irked some progressives, who argue for more liberal positions on criminal justice issues. “The criticism really arises when she describes herself as a progressive prosecutor,” Changa said. “I want her to do better.”
Changa views Harris as trying to push a “new age version of a tough on crime goal,” which she sees as highly problematic. “I don’t feel like she’s had a real genuine conversation with the public about her record,” she said. “She’s been very dismissive.”
Several other progressive activists interviewed by The Daily Beast echoed these sentiments, repeatedly using the word “questions” when it comes to her prosecutorial record.
“People actually have questions, and there are questionable actions,” said one activist who requested anonymity to speak candidly about Harris. “Your record is your history. You had choices.”
Another activist, who worked on previous progressive campaigns, agreed: “I do think her record on criminal justice is the biggest thing that people have questions about.”
Harris’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Despite attacks from both sides, the California senator has regularly emphasized her record on the trail, often saying she is best positioned to “prosecute the case” against Trump. This week in Iowa, she referred to the president as the “predator living in the White House” and called for further scrutiny of his conduct, leaning on police jargon to make her point.
“Let’s look at the rap sheet on this case,” she said. “Let’s look at the rap sheet, shall we?”
But it continues to be met with bipartisan skepticism.
“Kamala Harris is a cop!” the Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles branch recently tweeted. Soon after, a nearly identical tweet surfaced: “Kamala is a cop,” Kat Timpf, a host on Fox News, tweeted the next day.
