Sanders urged Harris to focus on the working class, not just abortion, book reveals
Memoir recounts Bernie Sanders' push for economic populism as Kamala Harris navigated Biden's withdrawal and a narrow loss in 2024.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris's memoir, 107 Days, released Sept. 23, 2025, recounts a moment in July 2024 when Sen. Bernie Sanders urged her to center the Democratic campaign on the working class rather than abortion. Notes from a conversation after then-President Joe Biden left the race on July 21, 2024 quote Sanders as saying, "I supported Joe because he was the strongest voice for the working class. Please focus on the working class, not just on abortion."
Sanders was among a long list of top Democrats who initially resisted endorsing Harris immediately after Biden's withdrawal, instead offering advice. Harris ultimately endorsed Sanders' bid on July 27, 2024, and posted on X that "We must defeat Trump, elect VP @KamalaHarris, and create a government that works for all, not just the 1%."
Harris writes that postelection data showed voters, especially younger voters, did not cast ballots based on abortion, the war in Israel, or climate change, but on economic concerns. A postelection study by Tufts University found that 40 percent named the economy and jobs as their top issue, bolstering Sanders' advice to focus on the working class.
Harris's campaign ultimately lost all seven battleground states to Donald Trump on Nov. 4, 2024. Analysts and party officials cited a mix of factors, including perceptions that the party embraced left-wing policies at the expense of working- and middle-class voters. Veteran strategist James Carville argued the party betrayed working-class voters by building a "too-cool-for-school" coalition, while a former Trump administration official said the Republican Party had captured the working-class vote for the foreseeable future.
With the election behind them, Democratic strategists returned to the drawing board in 2025 as Harris published her memoir and planned a book tour in cities across the United States and in London. Fox News noted that Sanders' counsel about appealing to working-class voters remained central to the conversation surrounding Harris's candidacy, and that Harris's team pressed for a broader economic message in the wake of the loss. The network reported that Fox News reached out to Sanders' office for comment but did not immediately receive a reply.