San Mateo County Dems have glowing reviews for Harris

“Kamala Harris demonstrated so very clearly why she is poised to become President Harris, and why she is fundamentally better equipped than Donald Trump to lead this country into the future,” he said. “I would be thrilled to have a fellow California Democrat who understands our unique challenges in the Oval Office.” 

It’s a contrast to California’s Republican Party, who eschewed Harris’ record and maintained that a second Trump presidency would make the country “safer, wealthier and stronger.” 

“What Americans witnessed this evening was a failed California Democrat who refused to take accountability for her disastrous record,” a statement from CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica Patterson said. “Kamala Harris deserves credit for an open southern border that inspired millions of illegal crossings [and] Bidenflation that leaves too many living paycheck to paycheck.” 

In San Mateo County, a safe Democratic stronghold, Democratic politicians never needed to be terribly concerned that election results would pull for Trump. But they acknowledged the debate was a far cry from President Joe Biden’s own performance — another potential motivator for previously-indifferent voters. 

“I was really questioning my vote — not that I would vote for Trump, but I had a hard time justifying [Biden],” Jerry Hill, San Mateo County Central Committee member and former state senator from San Mateo, said. “Now we feel energized and we can now move forward with good conscience and support Kamala and the Democratic ticket.” 

Democratic political operative Joe Cotchett concurred. 

“Before tomorrow night, turnout was proving to be a difficult problem, as it was with Joe. People were not enthused at him,” he said. “Last night, getting to see Kamala Harris up close, listening to her voice, seeing her face, meant a lot to people who were otherwise indifferent on the matter.”  

But Cotchett is equally focused on an event that occurred just minutes after the debate concluded — pop superstar Taylor Swift endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket, which he believes will be just as impactful than the debate performance, if not more. 

“That was the most extraordinary thing that happened last night. Taylor Swift brings along with her, if not thousands, millions of young people that would have sat at home,” he said. 

Her Instagram post encouraging first-time voters to register drew more than 330,000 individuals to the vote.gov site.  

Several, including Cotchett and Julie Lind, San Mateo County Central Labor Council executive officer, also referenced one of Trump’s false claims — that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating neighborhood cats and dogs — as particularly disturbing rhetoric. 

“Listening to the former president accuse immigrants of coming to the country to consume local pets … the fact that somebody could watch that man make claims like that and still [want him to] lead the country is terrifying,” Lind said. “I can only speak for myself — I think personally, it highlighted some very stark differences between the candidates.” 

Trump was ill-prepared for the debate and Harris’ prosecutorial-style, Cotchett said. 

“He made a fool out of himself,” he said. 

State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, said that Harris handled Trump’s adversarial-style — known for personal insults and off-the-cuff remarks — extremely well. 

“I think that he’s a very hard person to debate because he throws out lots of insults and lots of lies and when you’re debating him, you either get in the mud with him and end up covered in mud or you don’t respond and sometimes can look weak,” he said. “I think she really struck the balance really well.”