One of the most powerful local leaders in the country is slamming the Harris campaign for its failure. Philadelphia’s Democratic Party Chair, Robert Brady, openly criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign on Wednesday, calling it “disrespectful and incompetent” in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. Brady, a former congressman and head of Philadelphia’s Democratic Party since 1988, expressed his frustration over the campaign’s minimal outreach to local Democratic leaders. He suggested that the Democratic Party might have fared better had they remained with President Joe Biden or selected a candidate he deemed more effective.
Brady argued that the Harris campaign failed to establish meaningful connections with Philadelphia’s Democratic leadership. As the largest city in a critical swing state, Philadelphia’s support is essential for any national campaign, making the lack of engagement particularly notable.
“They never dealt with us,” Brady stated in his interview. “They didn’t show us any respect. I never talked to the lady, and she’s the candidate.” Brady contrasted this with his experiences with President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, who met with local party leaders, showing respect and understanding for the importance of Philadelphia’s Democratic base. Brady highlighted that his organizers weren’t invited on stage at Harris’ events, commenting, “Not that I got an ego, but it shows the lack of respect.”
Brady further criticized a last-minute invitation from Harris’ team to meet with Democratic leaders in Washington at 4 p.m. Wednesday, which he declined, calling the outreach “too little, too late.”
Adding to his criticism, Brady expressed disappointment in the selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Harris’ running mate, arguing that Pennsylvania’s popular Governor Josh Shapiro would have been a more strategic choice. He cited low turnout in Philadelphia—the lowest for a Democratic presidential candidate in over two decades—as evidence of the campaign’s missteps. Brady noted that Harris’ team spent only about half the budget that prior Democratic campaigns allocated for get-out-the-vote efforts in the city.
Despite Philadelphia being a focal point for Harris’ campaign—where she visited Pennsylvania more often than any other state and held 16 rallies—voter turnout in the city lagged, enabling stronger Republican gains in suburban and rural parts of the state. Harris even held her final rally in Philadelphia on the Monday before the election and announced Walz as her vice-presidential pick in the city. However, the campaign struggled to generate the local support needed to offset Republican turnout.
Brady, however, did not take personal responsibility for the outcome. “We did everything we could with the limited resources we had, and people just rejected her and voted for him,” he said, underscoring his belief that the campaign’s failure to engage with local Democratic leaders contributed significantly to its disappointing results.
The Harris campaign did not handle the criticism well.
Philadelphia Democratic Chair and former congressman Bob Brady slammed Kamala Harris’ campaign, claiming their lack of communication with him and his organization contributed to her loss to President-elect Trump. Full story from @Laurenjmayk HERE: https://t.co/NX1hP0oS1T pic.twitter.com/thyWSBueek
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) November 6, 2024
Brendan McPhillips, a spokesperson for the Harris’ campaign, responded to Brady’s comments on Wednesday.
“The Pennsylvania for Harris team knocked more than two million doors in the weekend leading up to Election Day, which is two million more doors than Bob Brady’s organization can claim to have knocked during his entire tenure as party chairman,” McPhillips wrote. “No serious person can say they have an answer to what caused nationwide trends in the electorate less than 24 hours after polls closed. If there’s any immediate takeaway from Philadelphia’s turnout this cycle, it is that Chairman Brady’s decades-long practice of fleecing campaigns for money to make up for his own lack of fundraising ability or leadership is a worthless endeavor that no future campaign should ever be forced to entertain again. The thousands of dedicated staff and volunteers on the Harris campaign should be applauded for their efforts in the face of an unprecedented campaign, and will no doubt be the ones who are going to dust themselves off and get back to work.”
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