Crockett Links Harris’s Prosecutor Background to Underperformance with Black Men
Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, has attributed former Vice President Kamala Harris’s perceived underperformance with Black male voters in the 2024 election to her past career as a prosecutor. Crockett’s remarks came during an appearance on "The Chuck ToddCast" with former NBC News host Chuck Todd.
Todd initiated the discussion by questioning whether Black male voters harbored hesitations about voting for a woman. Crockett acknowledged the presence of misogyny across the board, regardless of race. However, she emphasized that dismissing Harris’s prosecutorial background as a contributing factor would be a mistake.
"I definitely think that there was misogyny in this across the board no matter what color male you’re talking about. I just think that you’d be in error to not like know that there was misogyny that existed," Crockett stated. "The very first polling briefing that we had, with a pollster that I trust a lot, he briefed the Black caucus, and he said that one of the issues that he was running into with Black and Brown communities was that she had been a prosecutor."
Prior to her political career, Harris served as the District Attorney for San Francisco and later as the Attorney General of California. During her tenure, she faced scrutiny from both sides of the political spectrum regarding her prosecution record. Some critics argued that her policies disproportionately affected marginalized communities, while others contended that she was not tough enough on crime.
Crockett highlighted that this background created a barrier for Harris in establishing trust within these communities. "There was definitely some resume stuff that disallowed her from being able to build the type of rapport of trust within these marginalized communities that historically have been targeted," she explained.
The congresswoman revealed that she had received guidance to emphasize Harris’s experience as a prosecutor during her campaign appearances. However, Crockett expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of this approach. Drawing on her own experience as a criminal defense attorney, Crockett attempted to frame Harris as "the kind of prosecutor we all would have wanted." She aimed to highlight the potential for a prosecutor to act justly and fairly.
Crockett shared an anecdote about a conversation with a prominent rapper who expressed discomfort openly endorsing Harris due to her prosecution record. She stated that she tried to address the rapper’s concerns by highlighting Harris’s support for second-chance programs and other initiatives aimed at rehabilitation.
"So he told me that one of the issues was just kind of like the prosecutor thing. And I said, and I made sure to talk about the things that we had been told move the needle with these groups, right? Like knowing that she had like second-chance programs and things like that, like letting them know that she was one of the good ones," Crockett explained.
Despite these efforts, Crockett believes that the public perception of Harris as a prosecutor was deeply ingrained and difficult to overcome in a short campaign period. She argued that voters lacked a comprehensive understanding of Harris’s policies and initiatives beyond her prosecutorial role. "The lawmaker argued that the fact that Harris was a prosecutor was ‘baked in’ and people didn’t know much beyond that. When you’re talking about 107 days of a campaign, it’s kind of hard to get that across," she stated.
Crockett’s comments echo a broader debate within the Democratic Party about the electability of women and minority candidates. In a separate incident, Crockett suggested that Democrats were likely to run the "safest White boy" in 2028, expressing concerns that voters might be hesitant to support a woman due to past electoral losses.
"It is this fear that the people within the party, within the primary system, will have about voting for a woman because every time we voted for a woman, we’ve lost, so far," she said in a clip posted to Instagram. "And I think that that’s a natural fear because we just want to win." She further added, "I had a donor on the phone with me telling me that all the donors are lining up behind that candidate. So I can tell, and I tell you, it’s not a Black person, nor a woman, OK?"
Crockett’s remarks underscore the complex interplay of race, gender, and political experience in shaping voter perceptions and electoral outcomes. Her analysis of Harris’s performance with Black male voters raises important questions about the challenges faced by candidates with prosecutorial backgrounds in appealing to communities disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system. It also highlights the ongoing debate within the Democratic Party about the electability of diverse candidates and the need to address systemic biases that may hinder their success.
