‘Underdog’ Vice President Harris Implores San Francisco Supporters to Help Her Win the White House

With just over a month left before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to a boisterous and rapt crowd at a fundraiser for her presidential campaign in San Francisco — the city where she first was elected to public office. 

“It really is good to be home — so many friends, my goodness,” she said to sustained applause and wild cheering. “OK, c’mon — we have work to do. Let’s sit down.”

Thousands of people gathered inside the cavernous Palace of Fine Arts along San Francisco’s northern waterfront — a Greco-Roman building originally built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. They packed into chairs and onto a balcony to hear Harris lay out her vision for America in a truncated stump speech that hit on her main messages, including her plans to strengthen the middle class, lower costs and sign a national abortion law.

She also warned the adoring crowd of the danger of returning former President Donald Trump to the White House.

“In many ways, he is an unserious man, he is an unserious man — however the consequences of putting him back in the White House are extremely serious,” Harris said before listing some of what she sees as those consequences including: cuts to Social Security and Medicaid, ending the Affordable Care Act, and imposing tariffs on foreign goods, which she called the “Trump tax hike.”

Harris warned the crowd that this was a “margin of error race,” saying she believed she was the underdog and imploring them to work hard for the next 38 days. 

“We are leaving it all on the field,” she said. “The leaders in this room have done so much already — and I am gonna ask for a little bit more. Each one of you is part of large networks, and I am asking you to activate those networks, tell your friends and colleagues and neighbors what is at stake, tell them why you came out today.”

Tickets for the fundraiser started at $500 and went up to $926,300 for the title of event chair, as well as four tickets, a reception with Harris, lunch and a photo with the vice president. 

According to an invite sent out last week, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu is among the hosts. In the invitation, Chiu wrote that he’s known Harris for 26 years since they were prosecutors together and that with the presidential race, “incredibly close … she needs our support more than ever.”

Harris traveled to the Bay Area after spending Friday at the border in Arizona, where she made her first detailed remarks on how she plans to tackle border security and immigration reform since declaring her candidacy in July. 

The crowd in San Francisco was packed with a who’s who of local and state elected leaders, including California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Treasurer Fiona Ma and Controller Malia Cohen. Also in attendance was longtime Harris friend and BART Board member Lateefah Simon, who is running for the Oakland congressional seat long held by Rep. Barbara Lee, 

Among those firing up the crowd ahead of Harris: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who gave brief remarks, and R&B singer Andra Day. 

After the event, Cohen said she hoped that Harris — who she considers a mentor — inspired attendees to get out and campaign.

“Today was very special. I brought my 4-year-old daughter,” she said. “Personally, I’m very proud and excited of Kamala. I’m fired up. I’m energized … I hope everyone gets off the sideline and gets into the game and really does more than just put up a sign.”