Grassroots Groups are Rallying for Kamala & Tim
by Christine Duren
Since Vice President Kamala Harris vaulted into becoming the likely Democratic nominee for president just a month ago, a groundswell of identity-based grassroots groups have sprung up online to rally behind her. The nightly calls are raising millions of dollars and securing hundreds of volunteers, drawing comparisons to the grassroots efforts that fueled former President Obama to victory in 2008.
But in 2024, in an era when identity shapes so much of politics, the rise of the first Black woman and first Asian American to be nominated for president by a major party is drawing more identity groups out of the woodwork.
“This is unprecedented diversity in the political pool,” said Pei-Te Lien, a professor in UC Santa Barbara’s Politics of Identity program. “That’s another reason why ‘identity group’ comes up, because we also see identity being recognized and used as leverage in the campaigns, in an unprecedented level.”
The following list is just a sampling of groups that have organized and raised funds for the Harris/Walz campaign:
- Republicans
- Evangelicals
- Black women
- Black men
- White dudes
- Crazy cat ladies
- Disabled
- Latino Men
- Caribbean-Americans
- Dads
- Native women
- White women
- Voters of Tomorrow (GenZ activists)