“She knows Nevada is important, she knows we matter.” – Carissa Snedeker, chair of the Washoe County Democratic Party
By Mark Robison, Reno Gazette Journal, July 22, 2024
Nevada women in politics shared conflicting thoughts about Vice President Kamala Harris emerging as the Democratic frontrunner after Joe Biden announced he would no longer seek re-election.
Carissa Snedeker, chair of the Washoe County Democratic Party, has been inundated with calls and texts since Sunday when the news broke.
“I’m hearing from Democrats all across Northern Nevada,” she said. “They’re super excited about this opportunity to elect Vice President Harris.”
Harris is ready to lead the nation, Snedeker said.
“She helped usher in some of the most consequential legislation of our lifetime,” Snedeker said. “She was right there side by side with President Biden on the Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure law while she’s also been out there with fighting for women’s right to choose.”
Harris will be especially good for Nevada, Snedeker added.
“She’s such a strong candidate – she does really well with voters all across the spectrum,” Snedeker said.
“She appeals to the white working class base. She does well with black, Asian, Latino voters. And, you know, Nevada was her first campaign stop this year. She’s been back five, six times. She knows Nevada is important, she knows we matter.”
Nevada Republicans share doubts about Kamala Harris
Nevada Republicans reached by the Reno Gazette Journal for comment said they thought Trump would easily beat Harris in the Silver State and nationwide.
“I don’t think (Nevada voters) are going to like her,” said Cher Daniels, second vice president of the Nevada Federation of Republican Women. “She’s more far left than Biden. She didn’t accomplish anything as the border czar. And when she talks, she just goes around in a circle and never really says anything.”
As far as Harris being a woman, Daniels said that won’t help her get the support of female voters.
“I don’t think women are going to stand behind Harris because she’s a woman, and I don’t think Black women are going to either because she’s Black,” Daniels said. “That’s not how I, as a woman, think. I look at your record and vote accordingly.”
Baggage from Harris’ past
Daniels and Sigal Chattah both brought up a story from Harris’ past that got attention in the 2020 election cycle when Harris first ran for president before being selected by Biden to join his ticket.
Chattah – a past candidate for attorney general and the current Republican National Committeewoman from Nevada – said she thinks former President Donald Trump will trounce her in the Silver State.
“I don’t find her the least bit inspirational because the way she climbed up the ladder is completely contradictory to everything that I believe in,” Chattah said.
She pointed to Harris’ well-known relationship with Willie Brown, who once controlled much of California politics, where Harris rose from county prosecutor to senator.
While Brown was state Assembly speaker, he named Harris to posts on the California Medical Assistance Commission and Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board – positions that Politico described as well-paid. And eight years after they broke up in the mid-1990s, he backed her campaign for district attorney when he was San Francisco’s mayor.
“I don’t think her career advancement had anything to do with merit,” Chattah said.
Nevada voters don’t like nepotism, she said, adding that it’s not the only problem she sees with Harris.
“She was given one job and that was to protect the border,” Chattah added. “Look at the surge in fentanyl overdoses in Nevada since Biden has taken office – that is directly linked to her.”
Alexis Hill ‘very excited’ to back Harris
Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill has been actively supporting the Biden-Harris campaign and sees it as natural to back Harris at the top of the ticket.
Hill had planned to caucus in favor of Harris before Harris dropped out of the 2020 race as a presidential candidate.
“I had been a fan of hers and just think she is an incredible leader so I’m very excited to support her,” Hill said.
She’s impressed with how unstoppable Harris has been in her career and thinks girls will look up to her.
“Representation matters,” she said. “I’ve seen it locally. The fact that (Harris) – as a woman and a woman of color, a Black woman – can rise to be our nominee for president is a big deal.”
She thinks Biden and Harris provided crucial help for Washoe County.
“Their administration has been incredible for our community,” Hill said. “They have made so many investments and transformative work with policy that they just really made Washoe County a better place to live for all people.”
She gave a list of projects that she says were made possible by the Biden-Harris administration.
“Pyramid Highway and Sparks Boulevard – we’re building capacity on those roads with (federal) grants,” Hill said. “These are new grants created during their time to help communities with roadwork projects.”
She also mentioned grants for three bridges, water reclamation and an extension of the Lake Tahoe shore trail near Sand Harbor.
“Our economy is booming in Washoe County, and we have a lot to be thankful to this administration for doing that for us,” Hill said.
Elected Nevada Democrats offer Harris support on social media
A number of top Nevada Democrats shared support for Harris on social media.
“Today, President Joe Biden demonstrated what country before self looks like,” Assemblywoman Angie Taylor said Sunday on X. “He put this country back together & we owe him our eternal gratitude. I stand with him on this: Kamala Harris is the best one to take it from here & lead our party & country into the future. I’m all in!”
Sen. Jacky Rosen, who is up for re-election, wrote, “Vice President Kamala Harris is a champion for the issues we care about, she’s highly qualified for the job, and she’s ready to lead on Day 1. She has my support as she works to earn and win the Democratic nomination, defeat Donald Trump, and make history as our next President.”
Nicole Cannizzaro, majority leader of the Nevada state Senate, wrote about being nine months pregnant when she met Harris last year. After a picture in celebration of Nevada’s female-majority legislature, Cannizzaro said, she felt faint and excused herself.
Harris “immediately followed, concerned about me and my baby. She insisted the medical team check me out,” Cannizzaro wrote on X.
“She called me the next day to check in and see how me and the baby were doing. Months later, when she saw me, she asked again how my baby was doing. This is the kind of person we should have leading this great Nation.”
Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to [email protected] or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.