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S.C. Black Voters Trash Kamala Harris: 'I Found Kamala Harris Abrasive From the Beginning'

January 17, 2020

Black voters in South Carolina on Friday criticized Sen. Kamala Harris's (D., Calif.) now defunct presidential campaign, saying it assumed too much about the black vote and lacked "consistency."

"I found Kamala Harris abrasive from the beginning," one voter said on CNN’s New Day. "I thought that she assumed to have achieved the black vote, which when you assume which way my support should go, it shows that you have commodified my interest."

Another voter lacked confidence in Harris's leadership, insisting that "if you can't lead your campaign team, you may not be able to lead the country." Others criticized the broader assumption that black voters prefer black candidates—as one voter put it, "it's almost like you’re saying we don't have our own ideas and views, which we do, beyond race."

Harris ended her campaign in December, citing a lack of funding. She dropped out following months of stories about mismanagement of her campaign and an inability to connect with Democratic voters.

Former vice president Joe Biden currently leads in the latest South Carolina primary poll, followed by businessman Tom Steyer and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.).