Harris spikes in Google search after Biden confrontation

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) spiked in Google searches in the second half of the debate shortly after her contentious back-and-forth with former Vice President Joe Biden over his record on civil rights. 

Searches for Harris’s name surged by 500 percent after the one-hour mark, according to Google Trends. Searches for former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) both increased by 300 percent during the second half. 

{mosads}Harris and author Marianne Williamson saw the largest spikes in Google searches for their names over the second hour, at various points seeing their names surge in popularity over other top-searched candidates.

Biden and Harris’s sharp exchange was one of the most memorable moments of the night. Harris went after Biden’s record on civil rights.

Harris brought up the former vice president’s past comments touting his work with two segregationist senators, calling it “hurtful.” 

“On this subject, it cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats, we have to take it seriously, we have to act swiftly,” Harris said. She then pressed Biden over his former opposition to busing, saying that she personally benefited from busing as a black woman. 

Biden hit back, saying, “I did not praise racists. It is not true, number one. Number two, if you want to have this campaign litigated on who supports civil rights and whether I did or not, I’m happy to do that. I was a public defender. I didn’t become a prosecutor.” Harris has faced some criticism over her history as a prosecutor in California. 

“Do you agree today, do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose busing in America then?” she asked. “Do you agree?”

“I did not oppose busing in America,” Biden said. “What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. That’s what I opposed.”