The women Kamala Harris has mentored

CNN — Backstage, Kamala Harris pulled aside Jahana Hayes. “Not only did she call, but she said, ‘Tell me, how I can help you?’” Alsobrooks ended up flying to San Francisco, where Harris set her up with meetings, including with people at Goodwill Industries, who oversaw the workforce development program that had partnered with Harris’ office, and with a judge who helped guide younger offenders toward the restorative justice program. Instead, she used that story to pull people “into the political fold where they may feel as though politics and government isn’t for them.” Harris’s advice hits a few consistent beats: “None of it is personal,” “Don’t internalize it,” “Come early and stay late,” “Stay focused on your why” and, perhaps most consistently, “If it was easy, everyone would do this.” “She wants us to understand the reality of what it means to be a Black woman running for higher office, that there are significant challenges: It’s much harder to fundraise. Before Harris went out onstage, Flanagan said, “She grabbed me by my shoulders and said, ‘I want you to know that I have your back.’” From left, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Alsobrooks said the pride she feels in seeing Harris’ campaign take off in the weeks since is like that “for a sister.” As much as they’re rooting for and working toward Harris’ win, though, these women still haven’t quite wrapped their heads around the idea that if she does, beyond all the greater meaning politically and culturally, the next president of the United States would be the woman who for so many years has just been Kamala on the other end of the phone.