At Home in San Francisco: Harris’s First Major Speech Since Election Loss Was Rousing Call-to-Action

Former Vice-President Kamala Harris delivered her first extensive public remarks since her defeat in the 2024 Presidential Election.

By Edward Henderson | California Black Media

Former Vice-President Kamala Harris delivered her first extensive public remarks since her defeat in the 2024 Presidential Election.

To cheers and a standing ovation, Harris spoke at the 20th Anniversary Gala of Emerge, an organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office. The event was held in San Francisco on April 30.

“Right now, we are living in their vision for America,” said Harris, who some California capital insiders believe will soon announce her candidacy for governor.

“This is not a vision that Americans want. We are living in a moment when the checks and balances upon which we have historically relied have begun to buckle,” continued Harris. “And we here know that when the checks and balances ultimately collapse, if Congress fails to do its part, or if the courts fail to do their part, or if both do their part, but the president defies them anyway, well, friends, that is called a constitutional crisis. And that is a crisis that will eventually impact everyone.”

In her speech, Harris praised Emerge for its work and impact around the United States. Since it was founded in 2002, the organization — founded in California — has trained over 6,500 Democratic women to run for office and more than 1,200 alums of the program serve in government today at different levels.

The California division of Emerge has more than 200 women serving and an extensive list of alumnae preparing to run in upcoming elections across the state.

“I am not here tonight to offer all the answers, but I am here to say this,” Harris continued. “You are not alone, and we are all in this together. And straight talk, things are probably going to get worse before they get better. But we are ready for it. We are not going to scatter. We are going to stand together, everyone a leader, and emerge. You have a special role to play. Organizing is as important as ever. Mobilizing is as important as ever. Running for office is as important as ever. So please, everyone here, please keep doing what you are doing. And to everyone, let’s lock it in.”

A’shanti F. Gholar, President and CEO of Emerge, says she is committed to developing new training strategies and empowering new candidates to help shift

the balance of power in the country and combat some of the damaging policies the Trump Administration is trying to enact.

“California is where Emerge began and one of the many states where we have seen extraordinary growth and success,” Gholar told California Black Media. “We’re fortunate to count a number of inspiring candidates and electeds, among our alums in the Golden State, including U.S. Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, and Controller Malia Cohen, and look forward to continuing to provide our comprehensive training programs that help women run for office and win.”

Harris also took time to highlight other leaders in Washington who she believes are leading the charge in maintaining the checks and balances politically. She is inspired by Democratic leaders representing points of view across the political spectrum, “including congressional leaders like Cory Booker, Chris Van Hollen, Chris Murphy, Jasmine Crockett, Maxwell Frost, AOC, and Bernie Sanders. All who, in different ways, have been speaking with more this moment so here’s one of the other things I wanted to talk about tonight and to highlight so look some people are describing what’s been happening in recent months as absolute chaos.”

Termed out, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is wrapping up his final stint in office.

A number of pollsters believe Harris would be the frontrunner if she decides to run. A recent survey conducted by Politico and UC Berkeley’s Citrin Center asked “respondents to select from a list of possible emotions about how they felt about Harris running for governor.” Respondents could select multiple options from the list of emotions: joyful, mostly excited, indifferent, outraged, hopeless, or other.

Among registered Democratic voters, 33% felt joyful over her potential run and 41% felt mostly excited, Politico said. Roughly a quarter said they were indifferent, and “negative emotions hovered in the single digits.”