Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., on Monday distanced herself from democratic socialism when pressed on whether she’ll be able to compete in states like New Hampshire in the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential primary.
Harris was asked about her position on the political ideology during her maiden trip to New Hampshire as a candidate, a state where Sen. Bernie Sanders beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 by more than 20 percentage points.
“Well, the people of New Hampshire will tell me what’s required to compete in New Hampshire, but I will tell you I am not a democratic socialist,” Harris told reporters during a campaign stop. “I believe that what voters do want is they want to know that whoever is going to lead understands that in America today not everyone has an equal opportunity and access to a path to success. And that that has been building up over decades and we’ve got to correct course.”
2020 Watch: @KamalaHarris -in NH-asked about having to move to the left to compete with @BernieSanders – tells @pdoocy “I am not a Democratic socialist” #nhpolitics #FITN #2020election pic.twitter.com/hrMAAxCyp3
— Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) February 18, 2019
“When we have an America where almost half of American families cannot afford a $400 emergency, we know that we’ve got to do some course correction. When we have an America where 99 percent of the counties in the United States of America, if you’re a minimum wage worker working full time, you can’t afford market rate for a one bedroom apartment, we need to course correct,” Harris said. “And those are my commitments in terms of being able to be in a position where one, I see it, but also I intend to do something.”
Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, self-identifies as a democratic socialist. He gained some supporters in Congress when card-carrying Democratic Socialists of America were elected to Congress in 2018: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.
