Harris picks up endorsements of 2 Congressional Black Caucus members

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) picked up endorsements from two Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members on Sunday following a strong performance in the first Democratic presidential debate late last week.

Reps. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) on Sunday became the fifth and sixth members of the CBC to endorse Harris, who is black. 

{mosads}Harris has been competing with fellow Democratic contender Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) for endorsements from members of the powerful group.

African American voters are a key constituency in the Democratic Party, and securing the support of black lawmakers would give a significant boost to either campaign.

Harris has seen her stock in the Democratic primary rise significantly since her debate performance in Miami.

The California lawmaker came out a big winner in polling and fundraising following what many considered a standout debate performance. 

Harris’s breakout moment came in a heated back-and-forth with Joe Biden during which she criticized the former vice president’s opposition to federally mandated busing to desegregate schools. 

“There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day,” Harris said to Biden. “That little girl was me.”

Biden called Harris’s criticism a “mischaracterization” of his views and said his issue was with the Department of Education administering busing policies. 

— Scott Wong contributed to this report.