Loretta Sanchez says Obama endorsement of Kamala Harris is racist
JULY 22, 2016 6:31 PM
Race a factor in Obama’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, Loretta Sanchez says
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In this Jan. 15, 2015, file photo, US Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, presents a Certificate of Congressional Recognition to Mexico's Consul of Mexico in Santa Ana during the official inauguration of the consular office. Damian Dovarganes AP
BY CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO
ccadelago@sacbee.com
In an interview aired on Univision 19 Friday, Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez injected race in explaining away President Barack Obama’s endorsement of U.S. Senate rival Kamala Harris, whose father is Jamaican.
Sanchez was asked why the president had endorsed Harris in the unusual race between two Democrats this year.
Speaking in Spanish, she noted that Obama and Harris are longtime friends, then added: “She is African American. He is, too.”
Sanchez’s remarks come days after she ripped Obama for endorsing Harris, arguging he should be focused on helping Democrats win the presidential race rather than inserting himself in a race between two party members.
Racial tensions between African Americans and Latinos have been an underlying, yet seldom discussed, issue in California politics.
Sanchez has aggressively courted Latinos in her campaign to succeed U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sanchez did not respond to a message left with her campaign.
She has been has been criticized for making comments about race and ethnicity in the past.
Last year, in a political meeting with an Indian American group, Sanchez mimicked a racial stereotype of American Indians, putting her hand to her mouth and making an offensive whooping sound.
In 2010, facing a challenge from Republican Van Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant, Sanchez said on Univision that “the Vietnamese and Republicans” were attempting "to take this seat from us … and give it to this Van Tran, who is very anti-immigrant and very anti-Hispanic.”
Sanchez apologized for her “poor choice of words” after Tran called it a “racial rampage.”
Still, she accused Tran of taking “a cheap political shot.”
Christopher Cadelago: 916-326-5538, @ccadelago
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