Harris Campaign Marketing: Call Her 'Kamala'

Just call her Kamala.

That's the branding message that's growing for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' campaign, as supporters chant "Kamala," and not "Harris" at her rallies and the social media channels for the race have been switched from "Biden HQ" to "Kamala HQ" when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race this summer, reports Politico.

And it's all part of the strategy as Harris and her campaign embrace the use of her first name over her last, even while her Republican rival Donald Trump often calls her "crazy Kamala," while mispronouncing the name. 

Harris' opponents often simply use her first name, not preceded by the words "vice president" and more as an insult, sparking debate online about the tendency to refer to women by their first names and reserving the use of titles and last names for men. 

This was a frequent argument in the 2016 campaign, when Hillary Clinton faced gender-based attacks and the use of her first name, rather than her arguably more famous last name and collection of titles she'd accumulated, including from her time as a senator and as the secretary of state. 

But in Harris' case, she's known by several names in addition to her titles as vice president, former senator, or former California attorney general.

She's "Kamala" to supporters and constituents; the wife to "Dougie" Emhoff; and as "Momala" to her stepchildren.

And when she was endorsed by former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, the campaign promoted their video as "The Obamas call Kamala." 

Her name, which means "lotus flower" in Sanskrit, is a common one in India, from where her mother came, and has often sparked commentary on how it's pronounced.

But now, she has a "98% name ID rate in this country now," says Lateefah Simon, who worked with Harris in the San Francisco district attorney's office, commented. 

"She's not hiding her ethnicity. She’s not hiding who she is. She was first a public servant."

It's nothing new for Harris to use her first name when she's wanting let voters and constituents know she's working for them, say others who have known her for years. 

Hillary Clinton often also leaned into using her first name while running, as have male candidates like Pete Buttigieg, Beto O'Rourke, and Bernie Sanders. 

Meanwhile, Harris' name preferences change based on what she's trying to stress. Her campaign calls her Vice President Harris when it's stressing her work in the White House, and the official tagline on her campaign is either "Harris for President" or "Harris-Walz."

She worked the same way in the past with her name, often using her first name with constituents as district attorney, but using her honorific when meeting with other public officials. 

Younger generations are also responding to Harris' use of her first name, often referring to her as "Kamala," Leah Daughtry, a longtime Harris ally and Democratic operative, told Politico. 

"Part of the coolness is that there’s not this big title they feel like they have to call her," she said. "Madam vice president, of course, that’s the title, but on a stage, on the trail, she’s Kamala," she said.

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