Photo illustration: by The Cut
Since Joe Biden took the floor Kamala Harris At the end of July, the energy in the Democratic Party was contagious. But Harris’ rise to the presidential nomination is a personal matter for A’shanti Gholar, the president of Emergence of America“Our organization grew out of her race for district attorney,” she tells me. In 2002, Harris was the first female candidate to run against an eight-year incumbent in San Francisco. The situation for women in politics was dire at the time. Harris’s advisers, frustrated by the lack of support she was receiving, joined forces to create Emerge, a new network for Democratic women running for office.
In the more than 20 years since then, Emerge has trained over 6,000 candidates and placed more than 1,200 into senior political office. Its graduates include some of the most powerful women in the country, including Interior Minister Deb HaalandBoston Mayor Michelle Wu and Arizona Governor Katie HobbsGholar has watched this evolution in real time, working her way up from co-founder of Emerge’s Nevada office to becoming the organization’s first Black president in 2020.
This fall, Gholar is tasked with helping not only get Harris elected, but also what she calls the “new American majority.” “Black, brown, indigenous women, young women, unmarried women, LGBTQ women. These are the voters who owe the Democratic victories. We want them to put their names on the ballot,” she says. While pollsters debate the electoral map, Gholar and her team are working to reelect more than 600 of their candidates and to drum up enthusiasm among women across the country who, inspired by Harris, are signing up to learn how to run for office. “She’s going to need a good Congress to work with,” the strategist says. “She’s also going to need allies at the state and local level, and that’s where most of our elected offices are.” Gholar lives in Washington, D.C., but will spend a lot of time traveling between now and Election Day. Here’s how she’s managing.
A typical morning:
I try not to reach for my phone first thing. But we’re in the middle of election season, so I’ll reach for my phone first thing every morning until Election Day. I usually start with an iced coffee with oat milk and these amazing sugar-free syrups from HomeGoods. I’ve introduced my team to it. We’re all hooked. Emerge has a hybrid environment, so when I’m working from home, my mornings usually start with internal meetings. When I’m in the office, I attend external meetings, lunch, and coffee.
How her job has changed since Kamala Harris’ nomination:
Even before the “switch,” as I like to call it, we were all for Biden-Harris. But the energy we’ve put into activating women since then is incredible. We recently did a virtual Step Up training, which we call a 101 training for women interested in running, and we had almost 500 sign-ups. We’ll be doing another training at the Democratic National Convention.
Women are starting to realize that they can have a story like the vice president. I like that anecdote that she’s the first president to work at McDonald’s. It makes people realize that we all start somewhere. That’s been wonderful for our recruitment and our training.
Dealing with stress:
I started going to Nava Health, a health clinic in the Washington DC area. I get intravenous therapy, acupuncture, and massages. My doctor monitors my blood work to make sure all of my numbers are OK. I get any supplements I may need to correct those numbers and keep my energy up. I also have regular appointments with my therapist to check in and release any tension or stress that is weighing me down. We should all focus more on our mental health.
About the challenges of her job:
Running an organization is a lot of work. From the minute you check in to the minute you check out, you’re making decisions that impact your organization. You’re responsible for a lot of people. That can be very stressful. Emerge has never been done before, so there’s no playbook I can go back to and say, “Oh, this is how you handle a global pandemic.” I really had to trust myself and my gut and the decisions I was making. And I always want to hear from the team; they’re part of this work, part of this movement.
About dealing with criticism and Reports of internal conflicts:
When you lead a well-known organization, you get articles like this. When I met the team, I said I valued the feedback. And I heard what was said. No organization is going to be perfect. People aren’t always going to agree with the direction and decisions you make, but the most important thing is that you move forward. And that’s what we did.
I like the quote from Venus Williams when she was asked about the people who criticize her. She said, “You know, all the people who really criticize me can’t do what I do.” There are a lot of people who are just sitting on the couch or on the computer criticizing and haven’t even entered the arena yet. I keep that in mind too.
This is how she maintains her energy:
I’m all about water and electrolytes. I love the Ultima ones. They’re really tasty and don’t have a lot of sugar. I try to keep my sugar intake very low. I also love Bloom, I put their green powder in my water and drink it with my morning coffee.
Advice she would have liked to have known at the beginning of her career:
When I entered politics nearly 20 years ago, people always said, “You have to have thick skin” or “you can’t be too nice.” But the truth is, in politics, you can just show up as you are and be successful. We see that every day in our graduates. Women from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, professions, religions and ethnicities, being their authentic selves and being successful. You are already enough. Just be true to yourself.
To end the day:
I love putting the day behind me and getting ready for a good night’s sleep. I recently got one of those Bluetooth sleep masks that is awesome. I go to bed and listen to affirmations in my ears instead of just streaming them from my phone. And of course, cute pajamas.
On the rise in political violence and voter intimidation:
At Emerge, we’re honest about the fact that we can’t eliminate racism, sexism, and misogyny from politics. What we can do is build Democratic women into great, knowledgeable candidates with a network of support. It’s important to remember that the end goal of political violence, especially violence against women, is to scare us into not running for office, not voting, not engaging in politics. That maintains the status quo. But when we’re in elected office, when we’re at the table, we’re making powerful changes, and that scares people. So we talk to our candidates about how to protect themselves, because there are people out there who don’t want the country to change.
About the people who help her:
My girls, for sure. We’re in the group chat every day. It’s important to have a good group of friends around you who support you but also tell you things you might not want to hear. And then there’s my incredible team at Emerge. There’s my amazing assistant Felicia, who really keeps me together, and Laila Mohib, who runs my office. I don’t know what I would do without them.
