Kamala Harris fires dozens of campaign staff in desperate bid to keep her 2020 run alive, after going deep into the red amid cratering polls

  • Harris is slashing staff and repositioning talent in Iowa amid a cash shortfall
  • She is at 3 per cent in the Real Clear Politics average
  • Her campaign is blasting 'gimmicks,' says it is making 'strategic decisions'
  • It is also in the red  - at the end of the last fundraising quarter, Harris raised $12 million but spent nearly $15 million

 Sen. Kamala Harris' campaign is laying off dozens of staff members as she seeks to inject new life into her presidential bid, which is struggling in the polls and facing money problems as she goes all-in in Iowa.

The California senator, who had a breakout moment in the first presidential debate and hoped to capitalize on an advantage in the Golden State, now finds herself paring down her team and seeking to reconfigure a smaller-scale effort focused on the first caucus state.  

'From the beginning of this campaign, Kamala Harris and this team set out with one goal — to win the nomination and defeat Donald Trump in 2020. This requires us to make difficult strategic decisions and make clear priorities, not threaten to drop out or deploy gimmicks,' wrote her campaign manager, Juan Rodriguez, in a memo explaining the changes, Politico reported.

Sen. Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is laying off dozens of staff members and focusing on Iowa amid financial struggles

Sen. Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is laying off dozens of staff members and focusing on Iowa amid financial struggles

He noted the 'incredibly competitive resource environment,' she faces.

He may have been referencing gambits by rivals Sen. Cory Booker and former Housing Secretary Joaqin Castro, who said they'd quit if they couldn't meet an online fundraising goal. 

Harris is running at just 3 per cent in the Real Clear Politics polling average, which, as the Republican National Committee notes in an email trumpeting the bad news, puts her about on par with Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. 

Harris has tried to use her background as a prosecutor as a calling card to attack Trump during the impeachment battle. 

She told 'Late Show' host Seth Meyer's Monday night: 'We have a clear display of consciousness of guilt ... We have a cover-up, that is that. 

'And we have a confession. And as a former prosecutor, I know a confession when I see it ... And frankly somebody ought to tell Donald Trump he has a right to remain silent,' she said. 

She may get a platform for free this fall if the Senate ends up taking up any House impeachment articles for President Trump. 

But she was not a central figure during the last presidential debate in Ohio, and her breakout moment, when she attacked former Vice President Joe Biden over school bussing, came back in June.

Harris is running far behind the top tier in national polling, and trails South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg in two recent polls

Harris is running far behind the top tier in national polling, and trails South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg in two recent polls

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris high fives Senator Bernie Sanders as former Vice President Joe Biden applauds him for his response to a question about his age and health during the fourth U.S. Democratic presidential candidates 2020 election debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio U.S., October 15, 2019

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris high fives Senator Bernie Sanders as former Vice President Joe Biden applauds him for his response to a question about his age and health during the fourth U.S. Democratic presidential candidates 2020 election debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio U.S., October 15, 2019

Rodriguez resorted to citing two candidates who won their party's primaries – but lost the general election.

'Plenty of winning primary campaigns, like John Kerry's in 2004 and John McCain's in 2008, have had to make tough choices on their way to the nomination, and this is no different,' he wrote.

At the end of the last fundraising quarter, Harris raised $12 million but spent nearly $15 million, leaving her campaign further in the hole. She pulled in a similar amount the previous quarter. According to her campaign, she raised $35 million from over 350,000 donors.

In a Suffolk University / USA Today poll released Wednesday, Harris was at 3 per cent, trailing Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who bested her with 6 per cent. She also trailed Buttigieg in a Hill / Harris poll. 

JOE BIDEN AND THE 28 DEMOCRATS HE RAN AGAINST TO BECOME PARTY'S 2020 CANDIDATE

JOE BIDEN

Age on Inauguration Day 2021: 78

Entered race: April 25, 2019

Career: No current role. A University of Delaware and Syracuse Law graduate, he was first elected to Newcastle City Council in 1969, then won upset election to Senate in 1972, aged 29. Was talked out of quitting before being sworn in when his wife and daughter died in a car crash and served total of six terms. Chaired Judiciary Committee's notorious Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. Ran for president in 1988, pulled out after plagiarism scandal, ran again in 2008, withdrew after placing fifth in the Iowa Caucuses. Tapped by Obama as his running mate and served two terms as vice president. Contemplated third run in 2016 but decided against it after his son died of brain cancer.

Family: Eldest of four siblings born to Joe Biden Sr. and Catherine Finnegan. First wife Neilia Hunter and their one-year-old daughter Naomi died in car crash which their two sons, Joseph 'Beau' and Robert Hunter survived. Married Jill Jacobs in 1976, with whom he has daughter Ashley. Beau died of brain cancer in 2015. Hunter's marriage to Kathleen Buhle, with whom he has three children, ended in 2016 when it emerged Hunter was in a relationship with Beau's widow Hallie, mother of their two children. Hunter admitted cocaine use; his estranged wife accused him of blowing their savings on drugs and prostitutes

Religion: Catholic

Views on key issues: Ultra-moderate who will emphasize bipartisan record. Will come under fire over record, having voted: to stop desegregation bussing in 1975; to overturn Roe v Wade in 1981; for now controversial 1994 Violent Crime Act; for 2003 Iraq War; and for banking deregulation. Says he is 'most progressive' Democrat. New positions include free college, tax reform, $15 minimum wage. No public position yet on Green New Deal and healthcare. Pro-gun control. Has already apologized to women who say he touched them inappropriately

Would make history as: Oldest person elected president

Slogan: Our Best Days Still Lie Ahead 

 

AND THE 28 WHO HAVE WITHDRAWN   

MICHAEL BENNET, Colorado senator

  • Entered race: May 2, 2019 
  • Quit:  February 12, 2019, evening of New Hampshire primary

MIKE BLOOMBERG

Entered race: November 24, 2019

Quit: March 4, 2020, day after Super Tuesday primaries

CORY BOOKER, New Jersey Senator 

  • Entered race: February 1, 2019
  • Quit: January 13, 2020 

STEVE BULLOCK, Montana governor 

  • Entered race: May 14, 2019 
  • Quit: December 2, 2019

PETE BUTTIGIEG, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana

Entered race: January 23, 2019

Quit: March 1, 2020, day after South Carolina primary 

JULIÁN CASTRO, former Housing Secretary

  • Entered race: January 18, 2019
  • Quit: January 2, 2020 

    BILL DE BLASIO, New York City mayor 

    • Entered race: May 16, 2019
    • Quit: September 20, 2020

    JOHN DELANEY, former Maryland Congressman

    • Entered race: July 8, 2017
    • Quit: January 31, 2019 

    KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York senator

    • Entered race: January 16, 2019
    • Quit: August 28, 2019 

    TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii congresswoman

    • Entered race: January 11 2019
    • Quit: March 19, 2020 

    MIKE GRAVEL, Former Alaska governor

    • Entered race: April 2,2019
    • Quit: August 2, 2019 

    KAMALA HARRIS,California senator  

    • Entered race: January 21, 2019
    • Quit: December 3, 2019 

    JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Former Colorado governor

    • Entered race: March 4, 2019
    • Quit: August 15, 2019 

    JAY INSLEE, Washington governor 

    • Entered race: March 1, 2019
    • Quit: August 21, 2019

    AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota senator 

    • Entered race: February 19, 2019
    • Quit: March 2, 2020 

    WAYNE MESSAM, mayor of Miramar, Florida 

    • Entered race: March 28, 2019
    • Quit: November 20, 2019 

    SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts congressman

    • Entered race:  April 22,2019
    • Quit: August 23, 2019

    RICHARD OJEDA, former West Virginia state senator

    • Entered race: November 12, 2018
    • Quit: January 25, 2019 

    BETO O'ROURKE, former Texas congressman

    • Entered race: March 14, 2019 
    • Quit: November 1, 2019  

    DEVAL PATRICK, former Massachusetts governor 

    • Entered race: November 13, 2019
    • Quit:  February 13, 2019, morning after New Hampshire primary

    TIM RYAN, Ohio congressman

    • Entered race: April 4, 2019
    • Quit: October 24, 2019

    BERNIE SANDERS, Vermont senator 

    • Entered race: January 25, 2019  
    • Quit: April 8, 2020 

    JOE SESTAK, former Pennsylvania congressman 

    • Entered race: June 23, 2019
    • Quit: December 1, 2019

     TOM STEYER, billionaire activist 

    • Entered race: July 9, 2019
    • Quit: February 29, 2020

    ERIC SWALWELL, California congressman 

    • Entered race: April 8, 2019
    • Quit: July 8, 2019  

    ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts senator

    Entered race: December 31, 2018

    Quit: March 5, 2020, two days after Super Tuesday 

    MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, author

    • Entered race: November 15, 2018
    • Quit: January 10, 2020 

    ANDREW YANG, entrepreneur

    • Entered race: November 6, 2018
    • Quit: February 12, 2019, evening of New Hampshire primary