The Washington Post - USA (2021-12-22)

A6 EZ RE THEWASHINGTONPOST.WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER 22 , 2021

BYCLEVER.WOOTSONJR.

Themomentthatintroduced
DougEmhofftomanyAmericans
lastedjust24seconds.Whenan
animalrightsactivistdashedon-
stageand wrenched amicro-
phonefromthehandof hisstar-
tledwife,KamalaD.Harris,at a
2019 campaign event, Emhoff
hurtledonstage, joiningatangle
of securityguardsto wrestlethe
protesteraway.
Twoyearsandonevice-pre-
sidentialinaugurationlater,Em-
hoffisthefirstmanto besecond
spouse,andnolonger firstinline
to respondto physicalthreats
againstHarris. But during a
groundbreakingif unevenfirst
yearforhiswife,Emhoffisplay-
ingaroleforHarristhatisjustas
critical,if lessobvious.
Hevisitedrural Utah,cladin
jeansandapoloshirt, topraise
nationalparks.He traveled to
Wisconsin with firstlady Jill
Bidento meetwithvictimsof the
Christmas parade tragedy.He
toured cultural sites in Paris
whileHarriswasmeetingwith
Frenchleaders.Hestoppedbyhis
nativeNewJersey to toutcorona-
virusvaccines.
In some ways, it’s ahighly
traditional role for apolitical
spouse,reachingoutto constitu-
enciesthatmaybe harderfor
Harris to engage, with asoft
touchthattakesoffthepolitical
edge. FromLauraBushtoNancy
Reagan to Jill Biden, political
spousesoftenadoptanonthreat-
eningaurathatcancharmeven
theirpartner’s adversaries.
ButEmhoff, ofcourse,is also
different.Heis theWhitemale
spouseof thefirstwomanof color
toreachsuchaprominentposi-
tion in Americanpolitics.Her
alliessayheservesasasortof
emissarytoanarrayofgroups,
includingthosewhomay, wheth-
ertheyadmitit or not,feelunease
aboutwomenofcolorinposi-
tionsof power.
“I have heardhimexpressvery
clearlythatheseespartofhis role
asshowingtheworldthebeauty
andthepowerandthewisdomof
hispartner,” saidRabbiSharon
Brous,wholedtheWhiteHouse
PassoverSederinMarch,which
includedremarksfromEmhoff.
“Thatwas whathewas doingon
thecampaigntrail,andIthink
that’sbeenabig partofwhathe’s
beendoingsincethisadministra-
tiontookoffice.”
Sheadded:“Thisculturethat
weliveinmonsterizespowerful
women.Andsoto havesomeone
this relatable, this character
who’s justbringingoutherhu-
manity, is reallycritical.”
WhiteHouseofficials,whode-
clinedto speakontherecordor to
makeHarrisorEmhoffavailable
forthisarticle,saidthesecond
gentleman’s officialroleis to dili-
gentlysupporttheaimsofthe
administration.

He represented the United

StatesattheParalympicsinTo -

kyoandaccompaniedHarrison

herofficialtriptoFrance.But

mostly,hehascrisscrossedthe

countryencouraging peopleto

getvaccinated, taking nearly

threedozentripsin all.

AsthefirstJewishspouseof a

presidentorvicepresident,Em-

hoffalsoservesas ambassadorto

aconstituencythatDemocrats

and the Biden administration

continueto cultivate, takingpart

inPassoverandHanukkahcele-

brations at the White House,

visitingsynagoguesandaffixinga

mezuza—asmallornatecase

containingareligioustext—to

thedoorframeof thevicepresi-

dent’s mansion.

All the while, the self-de-

scribed“seconddude”givesoff

theauraofamanwhois genuine-

ly surprisedtobewhereheis,a

neophyteto thechoreographyof

politicswhois havingthetimeof

hislife.Butthosecloseto Emhoff

sayhis roleis moreseriousand

tactical than it looks, helping

Harrismanageavolleyofattacks

thatmay beunprecedented.

Othervicepresidents,likeDan

Quayle,alsofacedcriticism,but

Harris’spioneeringrolehasat-

tractedparticularscrutiny. She

hasbeencriticizedforstruggling

toaddress thetasks President

Biden has assigned her,from

immigrationto votingrights.Tur-

moilamongherstaffhasraised

questionsaboutwhethersheis

readytostepinasBiden’s heir

apparent.

Herallies,whileacknowledg-

ingmissteps,sayracismandsex-

ismundergirdat leastsomeof the

criticism.ButtheWhiteHouse

seeslittleadvantageincomplain-

ingaboutthatpublicly.

“Imaginebeingmarriedto her

andsheis beingattacked,ana-

lyzed,criticizedforherphysique,

herdemeanor,herlaugh,every-

thing,andyou’renot supposedto

sayanythingpubliclyaboutit,”

saidConnieSchultz,thewifeof

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio),

who wasvettedas apotential

vice-presidentialpickforHillary

Clinton.

“Imaginehaving to keepall

thattoyourself—andworse,

tryingto keephelpingherto not

payattentionto it,”Schultzsaid.

“I suspectifhehadthefreedomto

tellyou,he wouldsayexactlythat.

Hesupports JoeBidenof course,

buthisnumberoneconcernand

focus is hiswife.”

TheKamala-Doug storyhas

been well-publicized over the

years,givenherroleasCalifor-

nia’sattorneygeneralandU.S.

senator.Hewas asinglefatherof

twoandahigh-poweredenter-

tainment attorney. She was a

barrier-breakingattorneygener-

al of California with national

ambitions.

After ablind date in 2013,

Emhofflaid his cardson the

table.“I’mtoooldto playgames

or hidetheball,”hesaidthenext

morningin anemailthatinclud-

edhisscheduleforthenext few

weeks.“Ireallylikeyou,andI

wanttoseeif wecanmakethis

work.”

Ayearlatertheyweremarried

in SantaBarbara. Harris’syoung-

ersisterandlongtimepolitical

adviser,Maya, officiated.

Despitethepressuresandpoli-

ticsoftheirpositions,observers

describeacouplewhoseemto

genuinelyenjoyeachother’s com-

panyinacitywhere marital

handholds,kissesandsleeping

arrangementsarepickedapart

forsubtlesignsof expediency.

In public comments and

amongWhiteHousestaffers,Em-

hoffhasleanedintotheroleof

supportivespouseandevenfemi-

nisticon.

“I realizenowmenneedto step

up,”hesaidduringa“Gender

EqualityListening Session”in

Paris during Harris’svisit to

Francelastmonth.“Theyneedto

stepupandbepartofthesolu-

tionandnotcontinueto bepart

of theproblem.AndI’mgoingto

doeverythingIcanin thisroleto

trytokeepmessagingandto just

keepsayingmenneedto support

women—period,endof story.”

TheHarris-Emhoffpairing,in

somequarters, alsoepitomizes

wheremuchofthecountryis

headed.

Theirrelationshipis bothin-

terracialandinterfaith.(Sheis

BlackandIndianAmericanand

identifies as Baptistbut was

raised with Hindu traditions.)

They areablendedfamily—heis

thefatheroftwoadultchildren

whocallHarris“Momala.”Sheis

oneof themostvisiblepeoplein

theworld,andheshelvedacareer

at aninternationallawfirmthat

madehimamillionaire.

InsideEmhoff’sleftarm,often

hiddenbeneaththesleeveofa

well-fittedsuit,Emhoffhas atrio

of tattoos.Twoare theinitialsof

hissonanddaughter,Coleand

Ella.Theotheris animageofa

dragon,becausetheChineseZo-

diacidentifies 1964 —theyear

bothHarris and Emhoffwere

born—astheYear of theDragon.

WhenHarrisbecameBiden’s

running mate, Emhofftook a

leaveofabsencefromthelaw

firmDLAPiper,since itsrosterof

clientswithgovernmentinterests

would makehis role there a

potentialconflict. Aftertheelec-

tion,Emhoffbegan teachinga

classat GeorgetownLaw.

Althoughheseemsunlikelyto

suffer—professionallyorother-

wise—fromaccommodatinghis

wife’s position,thecoverageofhis

roleasasupportivespousehas

oftenbeenlaudatory, evengush-

ing.

ButEmhoffisalsoperforming

pragmaticpoliticaltasksinsup-

portofHarris’spoliticalaspira-

tions,includingas anemissaryto

theJewishcommunity.

In March,heplayedalargerole

in avirtual PassoverSederhosted

bytheWhiteHouse,whichwas

opentoanyonewithaworking

Internetconnection.

Andseveral weeksago, Harris,

EmhoffandtheBidensmarked

Hanukkahin theEastRoom.The

candle-lighting is alongtime

WhiteHousetradition,butthis

timeit wasalsoa“family”cel-

ebration,Bidentoldthoseinat-

tendance.

“Tothinkthattoday, Iamhere

before youas the firstJewish

spouseofanAmericanpresident

or vicepresident,celebratingHa-

nukkahinthepeople’s house—

it’s humbling,” Emhoffsaid.“A nd

it’s notlostonmethatIstand

beforeyouallonbehalfof allthe

Jewishfamiliesin ourcountry.”

Theoutreachhasbeenmore

than symbolic, several Jewish

leaderssaid.

In November,Emhofftalkedto

theJewishDemocratic Councilof

Americaforanhouraboutfor-

eign and domesticpolicy, said

HalieSoifer,CEOof theorganiza-

tion.

“It’sclearthatheisgoingto

continueto growin thisroleand

continuetoserveasalinkbe-

tweentheadministrationandthe

Jewishcommunity,”Soifersaid.

“Thereis overwhelmingsupport

in thiscommunityfor thisadmin-

istration.Andthatisnotsolely

becauseit includesthefirstJew-

ish second gentleman, but he

doeshelpto connecttowhyit is

thatweasJewsaresupporting

thisadministration,becausehe

talksaboutit inverypersonal

termsof hisownJewishvalues.”

Soiferechoedafamiliarrefrain

aboutEmhoff: thatheappears

unscriptedinacityfullof disci-

plined, calculating figures.His

wifeisamongthosewhohave

beenaccusedat timesof relying

tooheavilyontalkingpoints.

Emhoffhas becomesomething

of anexpertatusinghisimageas

ahappy-to-be-here outsider to

advantage.

Inspeechesandpublicstate-

ments,hestresseshownewheis

to thepoliticalworld,sayingthat

heis still adjustingto itschoreog-

raphyandpomp.Jill Biden,by

contrast, whohashelpedEmhoff

acclimatetohisrole,hasbeen

marriedtothepresidentfor 44

years—andhehasbeenapoliti-

cianforallof them.

In2019,avideocapturedEm-

hoffdancing awkwardly while

ridingin aconvertiblewithHar-

risduringthatyear’s Pridepa-

radein SanFrancisco.

Thevideowasultimatelyre-

purposedforafundraisingpitch.

“IfIcandothesedadmoveswith

mydadbod,”Emhoffwroteto

accompanythe video, “then

hopefullyyouallcanhelp@Ka-

malaHarrisfinish2Qfundraising

as strongas possible!”

[email protected]

Doug Emhoff playing an age-old role with anew twist

TONI L. SANDYS/THEWASHINGTONPOST

DougEmhoff, husbandofVicePresident Harris,serves as asortofemissarytoanarray of groups, her allies say. Emhoffhas alsohelped

Harris manageavolleyofattacks, those close to himsay.And he has becomeanexpertatusing his imageasacheeryoutsider to advantage.

BYCOLBYITKOWITZ

Anewly approved congres-
sionalmapforCaliforniaincreas-
es thenumberof majority-Latino
districts inthestateandcreates
moredifficult terrainforRepub-
licancandidates.
Thenewmapprotects 41 Dem-
ocratic-heldseatswithdistricts
PresidentBidenwould have won
by double digits. Five of the
11 currentRepublicanmembers
areshiftedintomoreDemocratic
territory, settingupCaliforniaas
apotential battlegroundaheadof
afierceclashforcontrolof Con-
gress.Democratsholdarazor-
thin U.S. House majority, but
Republicanshave drawnmapsin
otherstatesthatgivetheman
edgeinthe 2022 elections.
Latinocitizensofvotingage
makeupthemajorityin16dis-
tricts,upfrom 13 inthecurrent
map,accordingto ananalysis by
Paul Mitchell,aredistrictingex-
pertwho runs the California-
based Redistricting Partners,
whichconsults onmapdrawing.
Latinos are 38 percent of Califor-
nia’spopulation. If all of the
16 newlydrawnseats werefilled
byLatinos,theywould makeup
30 percent of the California
Housedelegation.
Anindependentcitizensredis-
tricting commissionthatdrew
California’smapapproveditsfi-
nallines onMonday.
In astrongDemocratic yearin
California, the current House
delegationof 42 Democratsand
11 Republicans could lean as
muchas 47 to5underthenew
plan. It is the secondtobe
createdunderthecommission,
whichwasapprovedbyvotersto
take redistricting out of the
handsofelectedpoliticians.At
leastfourseats areexpectedto be
hard-fought toss-ups. Overall,
thestate willgofrom53seats to
52.
“Onpaper,the maphereis

greatfor Democrats,”Mitchell

said.“It’sdefinitely ripe fora

pickupof twoseats, andhelpsthe

nationalmapalittlebitinbal-

ancingoutthegainsRepublicans

havehad instates theycould

totally gerrymander.”

Anexampleofthepotential

benefits to Democratsisthenew

22ndCongressionalDistrict, lo-

cated in the state’sexpansive

Central Valley.

It is representedbyRep.David

G.Valadao, aRepublican who

losthis seatinthe 2018 Demo-

cratic midtermwaveandwonit

backin 2020.

Valadao,whois oneof the 10

Republicans whovoted to im-

peachPresidentDonaldTrump

overhisrolein theJan. 6insur-

rectionattheU.S.Capitol,will

faceanevenmoreDemocratic

electoratenextyearinadistrict

Bidenwouldhave wonby13 per-

centagepoints and in which

nearly60percent ofpotential

votersare Latino.Valadaoprevi-

ouslyprevailedin adistrictBiden

wonby11 percentagepoints.

Valadaolost someof hismore

RepublicanterritorytoHouse

MinorityLeaderKevinMcCarthy

(R),whosenew20thDistrictjuts

into Valadao’s currentdistrict

likeanoutstretchedarm.

“If Democratsare going to

controlCongress,it’s mypredic-

tionthatwillhappenbecausea

bunch of 18-year-old Latinos

showeduptovoteinthe[Va-

ladao’s]districtandflippedthat

seat,”saidChristianArana,vice

presidentof policyattheLatino

CommunityFoundation.

Thenation’s mostpopulous

stateceded aseatbecauseof

censuspopulation statistics,

whichrewardedfaster-growing

states suchas Te xas,Floridaand

Colorado. But the one demo-

graphicthatdid risein numbers

sincethelastredistrictingadec-

adeagowas Latinos,particularly

citizensof votingage.

TheCalifornia commission’s

recognition of Latino growth

stands in stark contrastwith

Te xas’sredistricting.

Morethan 50 percentofits

populationboomcamefromLa-

tinos,yettheGOPstatelegisla-

turedidnotdrawanynewLati-

no-majoritydistricts.TheJustice

Departmentis suingTe xasunder

theVotingRightsAct, claiming

Republicansintentionallymini-

mizedLatinovotingstrengthto

drawmoremajority-Whitedis-

tricts.

California Latinoadvocacy

groups and Democratslargely

sawthenewmapas awin,given

thatthestate’sLatinovotershave

overwhelminglysupportedDem-

ocratic candidates.

“TheRepublicanPartyisover-

whelminglyWhite,non-college-

educatedvoters. Whenyouhave

alegislaturedrawingmapslike

in Te xas,youcangetcreativeand

maximize your position,”said

MikeMadrid,aCalifornia-based

GOPconsultantwithexpertisein

Latinovotingtrends.“Thelong-

term trajectoryiscompetitive

seats will goDemocratic. The

RepublicanParty’s besthopeis to

build awall around asmany

congressionaldistricts asit can

to staveoff theinevitable.”

In California,Republicans

mayholdthecompetitiveseats in

2022, but by the end of the

decade, “theywillabsolutelylose

thoseseats,”Madrid said.

OfCalifornia’s22millionreg-

isteredvoters,only 24 percent

wereRepublican,accordingto

thelaststate tallyin August.

Nearly 47 percentwereDemo-

crats,and another23percent

werenonpartisan,agroupthat

has traditionallysided largely

withDemocrats.

Lookingbeyond2022,Mitch-

ell said, Democratswillhave

opportunitiestopeeloffmore

seats fromRepublicanssuchas

Reps.To mMcClintock,whorep-

resents theexurbsof theBayArea

towhichpeoplefledduringthe

coronaviruspandemicforlarger

homesandyards; MichelleSteel,

whose OrangeCountydistrict

nowdipsintoLosAngelesCoun-

ty;andKenCalvert, whosedis-

trictstretchingfromLosAngeles

CountytoPalmSpringshasin-

creasinglyrobustLatinoandLG-

BTQcommunities.

Democratstookonehitin the

newmap.Thelossofonecon-

gressional seatcame at their

expenseinLosAngelesCounty,

where population has sagged

overthedecade.Thenewmap

mergedtwoDemocratic districts

nowrepresentedbyReps.Alan

Lowenthaland LucilleRoybal-

Allard.

Lowenthal announcedlast

week that he would not seek

reelection.Hoursbeforethefinal

mapwasapprovedMonday, Roy-

bal-Allardalsosaidshewould

retire.Bothare 80 years old.

LongBeachMayorRobertGar-

cia,anally ofBidenand Vice

PresidentHarris,is thehighest-

profilecandidatesofarforthe

mergedseat.

AsianAmericans, anotherdi-

verseandgrowingdemographic,

successfullyfoughtmovesthey

sawasweakeningtheirpolitical

influence.

Anoriginaldraftmapslicedup

Asian-majoritycitiesin theWest

SanGabrielValley, represented

byRep.JudyChu,(D)thefirst

ChineseAmericanwomanelect-

edto Congress.

Theproposaldrewimmediate

backlashfrom thelocalAsian

community, andthecommission

kept thecitiestogether.Inall, in a

statewitha 17 percent Asian

population,themapcontainssix

congressionaldistricts where 30

percent or moreof thecitizensof

votingage areAsian.

“Inthismoment,Ifeelrelief.

At leastwe’retogether,” saidNan-

cyYap, executivedirectorof the

Centerfor AsianAmericansUnit-

edforSelfEmpowerment.“We

wantedtoensureourpolitical

voicewaspreserved....Iappre-

ciate thatwe’ve beenheard.”

TheCaliforniaCitizensRedis-

tricting Commission, approved

byvotersaheadof 2011 redistrict-

ing,isconsideredamodelforthe

kindof independentpanelsthat

civicgroupssayareneededto

endpartisan gerrymandering

andbringgreatertransparency

to acomplicatedprocess.Witha

stateaslargeand diverse as

California,thecitizencommis-

sioners hadto weighmanycom-

peting interests and at times

facedintensecriticism.

“Democracyisamessyproc-

ess,andthebeautyofcommis-

sionsis thatit’sall doneliveand

open inatransparent wayso

everyonegetstoseethemessi-

ness,”saidSaraSadhwani,oneof

the14 commissioners.“Thereare

alot ofcommentatorson the

sidelinesthatliketosneerand

jeeratus,butIthinkwewere

successful.”

Oneof thecommission’s most

vocalcritics,StevenMaviglio,a

Sacramento-based Democratic

consultant,lamentedthatunder

thevoter-approvedsystem,Dem-

ocratsgaveuptoomuchpower.If

Democratic politiciansdrewthe

lines,“itwouldbethehardball

politicsthatotherstates areplay-

ing,andthecreativitythatgoes

with thatisendless,”hesaid,

suggesting theycould have

drawnthemselvesmoreseats.

[email protected]

Latinos, Democrats get aboost on California’s updated congressional map

Sources:wedrawthelinesca.org,

TIGER/Line,Decision DeskHQestimates ADRIÁN BLANCO/THE WASHINGTON POST

California’scongressionalmap approvedbythe

state’sindependentredistrictingcommission

LosAngeles

SanFrancisco

Sacramento

36 8 332

52 districts

Joe Biden

+

+5 +5 DonaldTrump

+

Solid Dem. Close Solid GOP

Margin of victoryin

the 2020presidentialelection