Democrats in the toughest midterm races can’t put enough distance between themselves and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
A string of Democratic candidates campaigning in red states have rejected Harris’ support both before and after it was offered. From Alaska to Kansas, Harris’ king-making ability appears nonexistent.
‘Having someone from California come in and try to tell Kansans who they should vote for is a pretty bad idea.’
“It’s all good,” Harris spokesman Eduardo Negron told Politico. “Vice President Harris will continue to raise money and travel on behalf of candidates in races where she can help make a difference.”
Harris might not be doing much traveling.
Alaska’s Mary Peltola went out of her way to snub a fundraising assistance offer from Harris in August.
“Mary isn’t seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48 — her focus is and always will be Alaska,” a Peltola spokesperson told local outlet KTUU.
The former congresswoman also refused to endorse Harris in 2024, though she clarified in a social media post at the time that she wasn’t voting for President Donald Trump.
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Rep. Mary Peltola (D). Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service/Getty Images
“Mary Peltola stood by as Kamala Harris restricted Alaska’s energy production, including ANWR, and she’d shutter Alaskan energy and jeopardize jobs once again if elected,” National Republican Senate Committee press secretary Bernadette Breslin told Blaze News when asked about Peltola’s move.
Harris isn’t finding takers across the Midwest either.
“I received 9,000 more votes than Harris in 2024,” Democrat candidate for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District Rebecca Cooke said in a statement to Politico. “I don’t need anyone to come and campaign with me in my district. I do the work of building relationships — including across the aisle — on my own.”
Though Cooke is distancing herself from Harris now, she was an outspoken supporter during the 2024 presidential election.
Cooke previously and unsuccessfully ran for the same congressional seat in 2022 and 2024.
Iowa Democratic Senate nominee Josh Turek gave a flat “no” when asked if he wanted the former vice president’s help on the campaign trail. Rob Sand, the Democrat running for governor of Iowa, provided Politico a similarly unenthusiastic response.
“Nope,” Sand said. “Let’s move on.”
Kansas Democrat Adam Hamilton, who is also running for the U.S. Senate, shooed the former vice president away from his race a bit more diplomatically.
“Having somebody from California come in and try to tell Kansans who they should vote for is a pretty bad idea,” the Methodist pastor told Politico.
Hamilton’s campaign is widely considered a long shot. Kansas hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, and he’s lagging several points behind Sen. Roger Marshall (R), even in Democrat-leaning polls.
Though Hamilton may be trying to draw a line between Harris’ West Coast wokeness and his Midwest moderation, his track record suggests there isn’t much daylight between the two. The Methodist pastor admonished his congregation and called on them to scrutinize their white privilege in 2020.
Hamilton’s Resurrection church also touts extensive LGBTQ+ programming, and he has repeatedly landed in hot water for his unorthodox theological views.
Though she’s striking out in the heartland, Harris is finding some purchase with Southern Democrats.
Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, now running for Senate, accepted a Harris endorsement in October 2025 and previously called the former vice president as “my friend Kamala.”
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff is also quietly embracing Harris as he tries to win another term. The pair held a closed-door “Women for Ossoff” tele-rally in August, which was quickly slammed by his Republican challenger, Rep. Mike Collins.
Harris faces uneven terrain looking ahead to a 2028 run. Many in her own party would like her to just go away already, but a few stalwart supporters could make it to the Senate this November.
Either way, Democrats’ tumultuous rebrand isn’t over yet.
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California, Democrats, Endorsements, Kamala harris, Midterms, Politics