New York Attorney General Letitia James sent out a fundraising pitch Thursday talking up Vice President Kamala Harris — and tellingly made no mention of President Biden as pressure mounts on the 81-year-old to bow out of the 2024 race.
“Friends, with so much at stake this November, Vice President Kamala Harris needs you to stand by her side,” said the Democratic attorney general. “We’re counting on 10,000 fearless fighters to let us know: Do you approve of Vice President Kamala Harris?”
The cash plea then asks “which of the administration’s accomplishments do you consider to be the most impactful?” without mentioning it was actually the Biden administration.
“What are some things you would like to see Vice President Harris focus more on over the coming months?” it adds, even though Biden will be the commander-in-chief at least until January.
One veteran campaign consultant said James’ fundraising appeal comes off as cold — treating Biden like a political corpse.
“Biden’s body hasn’t even been sent to the funeral home yet for viewing. She’s like the high paid undertaker,” said veteran campaign consultant Hank Sheinkopf.
“She’s trying to attach herself to a changing political environment so she can raise money for herself.”
The appeal then pivots to James, who is up for re-election in 2026.
Before asking for donations, the pitch asks, “Is it important for you to have an attorney general with the courage and experience to stand up to powerful interests on behalf of the vulnerable?”
The fundraising appeal notes that both James and Harris are black women who are “held to a different standard, forcing them to fight even harder than their peers. That’s why, with elections looming ahead, Letitia is counting on all of us to stand by Kamala Harris at this critical moment in her fight against far-right extremism,” the pitch said.
Despite the Biden snub, Democratic strategist Jon Reinish defended James’ pitch as appropriate.
“It’s been reported over the last week or so that the Biden team themselves are quietly poll testing Harris. There’s increased and increased positive chatter around Harris, especially given her razor-sharp, fearless prosecutorial instinct, which, if I’m the Trump team, I fear,” Reinish said.
“She’s historic. Tish is historic. There’s overlap. I think this is fine,” Reinish said.
The James’ campaign last email that mentioned Biden was hours before the president’s disastrous performance duringthe June 27 debate with Donald Trump.
It asked whether supporters “approve of President Biden.”
A James campaign rep said the AG continues to support Biden.
“Joe said he’s in this race to the end, and Tish is going to be there with him,” the spokesperson said.
The campaign has sent out previous emails about Harris, including in May and April, a rep noted.
“Right now, only 37% of Americans say they approve of Vice President Kamala Harris. There’s no way that’s right,” the May 25 fundraising pitch asked.
Republican Michael Henry, who lost to James in the 2022 race for attorney general and is seeking a rematch in 2026, sought to make hay of her fundraising off Kamala Harris.
“It’s not a coincidence. It’s striking that she’s doing it now. She’s a politician pretending to be attorney general,” Henry said.
James won a civil fraud judgement against Trump, the former president and Republican nominee again for the White House, after accusing him of inflating his business assets by billions of dollars to get favorable terms for loans and insurance.
He’s appealing the judgment.