Political Dynamics and Challenges in the Campaign Trail

When Senator Kamala Harris started her presidential campaign 10 months ago, she drew a crowd of 20,000 to her kickoff rally — the biggest of any candidate’s. She was talked about as a potential heir to the political coalition that carried Barack Obama to the White House. We followed her campaign to South Carolina to explore why, after such fanfare, she’s now polling in the single digits.

Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national political reporter for The New York Times, and Monika Evstatieva, a producer on “The Daily.” For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

• Ms. Harris said she wanted relevant policy, not “a beautiful sonnet.” Here are the signature issues of her campaign.
• We asked 21 candidates the same 18 questions. Hear Kamala Harris’s answers.

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