Kamala Harris Sheds Significant Portion Of Staff In New Hampshire

Kevin Robillard
Updated
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) speaks during the New Hampshire state Democratic Party convention on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) speaks during the New Hampshire state Democratic Party convention on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

California Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign laid off the vast majority of its field staff in New Hampshire this week, sharply limiting her presence in the Granite State.

A Harris aide confirmed the campaign was down to a “skeleton staff” in New Hampshire, based entirely out of Manchester. The Harris campaign announced on Wednesday that it had laid off staffers in its Baltimore headquarters and made other cost-cutting measures after struggling with fundraising in recent months.

Even before this week’s layoffs, Democratic operatives in New Hampshire had questioned Harris’ commitment to the state, noting she had spent significantly more time campaigning in Iowa and South Carolina. Most recent public polling in New Hampshire shows Harris earning 5% or less of the vote.

A smaller presence in New Hampshire could hamstring Harris’ efforts to capitalize on any momentum she may gain from a strong performance in Iowa, the state Harris famously and profanely said she planned to move to earlier in the fall.

“Senator Harris and this team set out with one goal — to win the nomination and defeat Donald Trump in 2020,” said Nate Evans, the campaign’s New Hampshire communications director. “To do so, the campaign has made a strategic decision to realign resources to go all-in on Iowa, resulting in office closures and staff realignments and reductions in New Hampshire. The campaign will continue to have a staff presence in New Hampshire but the focus is and will continue to be on Iowa. Senator Harris will not visit New Hampshire on November 6 and 7, but her name will still be placed on the primary ballot.”

On Friday, Politico noted that several Harris offices in the state were dark and appeared to be inactive, with a large chalkboard in Portsmouth reading, “105 days until Feb. 11” — which would have meant it was last updated on Oct. 29.

The Twitter accounts of several Harris staffers in the state have not sent any messages about the candidate since that day — one day before the campaign announced layoffs.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.