WASHINGTON — One of the biggest challenges for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the final stretch of the campaign is introducing herself to voters before her Republican rival, Donald Trump, has a chance to define her.
Until her sudden election to the top of the Democratic ticket this summer, Harris was still a somewhat unknown figure in national politics, driven in part by her aversion to opening up and embracing the spotlight. And since she’s become the nominee, Republicans have criticized Harris for not doing many interviews or giving enough specifics on her policy plans.
But the vice president is sharing personal details about her childhood, cooking and food to show her more private side.
It is known that Harris is a foodie and likes to cook. In fact, she had just made a pancakes-and-bacon breakfast for her niece’s 6- and 8-year-old daughters on the July morning when Biden called with the news that he was dropping out of the race.
From talking about nacho cheese Doritos as her snack of choice to washing collard greens in the bathtub, Harris is aiming to connect with voters on a more personal level. While learning that she likes to munch tortilla chips at snack time likely isn’t enough on its own to sway anyone to vote for her, the small — and sometimes amusing — details could help Harris show she can relate to people and their concerns.
“She is trying to show that she is a full person beyond just her policy proposals,” Dana Brown, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University, said in an email.
Stopping at Dottie’s Market in Savannah during a campaign bus tour of southeastern Georgia last week, Harris became excited by what she saw on the counter.
“What is that cake?” she said. Chocolate caramel, an employee answered.
“I want a slice of that. Caramel is like my favorite,” Harris said. “Oh, chocolate and caramel?” she added, after appearing to digest the description. The cake was covered in a white frosting with caramel on top and drizzling down the sides.
“Fantastic,” Harris said.
“I was in band when I was your age,” she said while visiting marching band practice at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia. She gave a pep talk about leadership.
“All that you all are doing, it requires a whole lot of rehearsal, a whole lot of practice, long hours. Right?” she said. “Sometimes you hit the note; sometimes you don’t. Right? But all that practice makes for beautiful music.”
Harris did not say which instrument she played. An aide later told a reporter that Harris played French horn, xylophone and kettle drums; the vice president had confided that she “couldn’t stick with one” instrument.
Harris shared her collard greens recipe — and unusual preparation method — with Mashama Bailey, chef at The Grey restaurant in downtown Savannah. A friend used to ask Harris to make the greens for a yearly Christmas Eve party.
“And I am not lying to you that I would make so many greens that I’d need to wash them in the bathtub,” the vice president told Bailey. “I’m telling you the truth.”
Harris starts by rendering the fat from bacon before stirring in sliced garlic, chili peppers, a lot of water and some chicken stock. “And I let it go for a while, before I put the greens in,” she said. After a couple of hours, she finishes with vinegar and Tabasco sauce.
According to McDonald’s, 1 in 8 Americans have worked at its fast-food restaurants at some point in their lives. Harris is among them.
“I had a summer job at McDonald’s,” she said at an August campaign rally in Las Vegas, trying to show an understanding of middle-class struggles.
During a policy speech in North Carolina to discuss her price gouging proposal, also last month, Harris said she was in college when “I worked at McDonald’s to earn spending money.”
Her duties were making french fries and working the cash register, she said on “The Drew Barrymore Show” earlier this year.
Harris and her sister, Maya, were raised by a single mother, Shyamala, an immigrant from India. Harris has said she was 13 when her mother bought her first home after saving for a decade.
At snack time, Harris reaches for Doritos.
“This is my go-to, the original, nacho cheese,” Harris said while holding a red bag of Doritos when she and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and their spouses stopped at a Sheetz convenience store in Moon Township during their campaign bus tour of southwestern Pennsylvania in August.
Her soda of choice?
“I like root beer. He likes Diet Coke,” she said, referring to her husband, Doug Emhoff.