Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin was emphatic.
'No,' she repeated when asked if Vice President Kamala Harris, and two-time failed presidential candidate, should seek higher office again.
asserted
Harris → repeat → office
'It's funny, but it's not that funny,' the exasperated voter asked, pointing to Harris's lingering popularity among Democratic voters.
asserted
voter → ask → voters
'Who's going to tell her no?
asserted
Who → go → her
'
'Someone has to tell Kamala Harris not to run.'
asserted
Someone → have → Harris
Slotkin conceded that Harris was not the 'fresh face' that the party needed.
asserted
party → concede → that
It was a rare honest public moment of the party conversation about what to do with Harris as she steps up her activity on the campaign trail.
asserted
she → step → trail
Harris is stepping up her campaign activity and considering a presidential run in 2028
Harris appeared recently at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies for an address on foreign affairs
Harris's catastrophic 15-week run for president in 2024 ended in her receiving some 6 million fewer popular votes than Biden won in 2020, just 226 electoral college votes to Donald Trump's 312, and the Democrats shedding support among loyal black and Hispanic voters.
asserted
Democrats → step → voters
Any good will the Democrats expect to generate from a comeback in the midterms next week could be undermined by a failure to put forward a serious presidential candidate for 2028.
uncertain
expect → expect → 2028
But telling Harris 'no' only serves as rocket fuel for her political motivations, Democratic sources familiar with her thinking told the Daily Mail.
asserted
sources → tell → Mail
Harris has long urged her supporters, 'don't let anyone tell you no,' citing a long list of people who told her that 'it was not her time' when she wanted to run for office.
asserted
she → urge → office
'I eat no for breakfast,' she finishes, often with peals of laughter to signal her disdain for critics and doubters.
asserted
she → eat → critics
One Democratic insider told the Daily Mail that many Democratic donors and party officials are in 'panic mode' and looking for ways to end another Harris presidential campaign before it begins.
asserted
it → tell → campaign
Harris supporters were not surprised when anonymous Democrats told the Wall Street Journal that Harris's husband Doug Emhoff had told them that he preferred that she not run
asserted
she → tell → them
Harris snapped back, sneering at those 'who think that I should just sit at home and eat bonbons and cook Doug's favorite foods,' reminding her critics in a CNN interview on Sunday that she could do both.
uncertain
she → snap → both
'I could cook Doug's favorite foods and do this,' she added.
uncertain
she → cook → this
Although Emhoff has been absent on the midterms campaign trail, he recently appeared with Harris in New Hampshire, again playing the role of a supportive spouse.
asserted
he → appear → spouse
Harris has long felt that she belongs in the Oval Office and that her failed 2024 campaign was not her fault, sources who worked with her told the Daily Mail.
asserted
who → feel → Mail
The premise of her memoir 107 Days was that if she just had more time to campaign as the Democratic nominee, she would have defeated Donald Trump to become the president of the United States today.
asserted
she → have → States
Harris has been making calls to reconnect with donors, one Democratic strategist told the Daily Mail, and while they are polite, they are not always well received.
asserted
they → make → Mail
'You don't want to say no to the former vice president,' one source familiar with the calls told the Daily Mail.
asserted
source → want → Mail
'At the same time, they are not committing to support her right now.
asserted
they → commit → her
Many donors are still angry about how the Harris team spent over a billion dollars during the 2024 campaign, and there is little interest in supporting another campaign.
asserted
team → spend → campaign
When they hang up, the verdict is not kind to the former vice president.
asserted
verdict → hang → president
'They are repulsed and flabbergasted that she just won't take a hint,' another source familiar with Harris's conversations with some of the Democratic party's top donors told the Daily Mail.
asserted
source → repulse → Mail
Other donors feel like Harris took too much time off, another source said, and was late to call them to process the results of her losing 2024 campaign.
asserted
source → feel → campaign
Harris is working to make up lost time, sources say, knowing that California Governor Gavin Newsom has also been courting their support.
asserted
Newsom → work → support
Harris' husband is back on the campaign trail to support his wife's political ambitions
Harris continues to pick up the pace of her campaign events ahead of the midterms
'
asserted
Harris → support → midterms
Harris and Newsom have the same donors,' Lindy Li, a former Democratic fundraiser and author of the book, Unburdened, told the Daily Mail.
asserted
Li → have → Mail
'That's why she's doing this, to basically mark her territory before it's too late.
asserted
it → do → territory
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who donated $17 million to Harris's presidential campaign in 2024, warned her in an interview that she faced a 'very challenging path' if she ran again.
asserted
she → donate → path
Harris, however, is pushing forward despite significant political headwinds.
asserted
Harris → push → headwinds
Last week, Harris very much looked like a candidate for office as she traveled across the country.
asserted
she → look → country
The failed presidential candidate, who turned 62 on Tuesday, campaigned for Democrats in Nevada, Mississippi and New Hampshire, with plans to go to Wisconsin and Georgia.
asserted
who → fail → Wisconsin
She's also doing more media appearances.
asserted
She → do → appearances
If I run, my motivation is not to beat other Democrats, it's to actually do the job,' she told CNN in an interview, revealing she was going 'back and forth' while mulling the decision.
asserted
she → run → decision
Behind the scenes, her allies are sharing a list of about two dozen top campaign aides and consultants she is working with as she mulls her decision, to prove to donors that she is serious about running again.
asserted
she → share → donors
'She's serious about another run, but even if she ultimately decides against it, you want to have your team in place,' one former Harris campaign advisor told the Daily Mail.
asserted
advisor → decide → Mail
Her behind-the-scenes activity is sparking a strong reaction from donors, who are fretting about how she would affect the race.
asserted
she → spark → race
Right now, opposition to Harris is falling into two political camps, according to sources.
uncertain
opposition → fall → sources
One camp believes that Democrats have to work to isolate the former vice president and stop her from running again, arguing that they made a mistake with Biden by trusting he would make the right decision until it was too late.
asserted
it → believe → decision
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
