East Bay phone bank volunteers energized by VP Harris' presidential bid

The excitement in the Democratic party over Kamala Harris' name being moved to the top of the ticket is energizing volunteers here in the Bay Area.

In a sleepy neighborhood in the hills of El Sobrante, more than a dozen volunteers gathered at Nancy Klein's house. It's something they do every week.

"I'm a volunteer with the Democrats, and we're reaching out today to say thank you for donating to the Harris for president campaign," said one of the volunteers, who was reading a script provided by the campaign.

There are people scattered in every room of the house, even the garage. They are sitting at folding tables making phone calls to voters.

"It works. It helps. It helps elect Democrats," said phone bank host Klein.

She first got involved with phone banking all the way back in 2008 with Barack Obama's campaign. When he was running for re-election in 2012, Klein decided to start hosting the phone banks in her home.

"Once I started, I can't find a good reason to stop," she said laughing.

There are similar phone banks of volunteers across the country, but after COVID, many went virtual. For the people who come to Klein's every week, they say they really enjoy getting together.

"It's the vibe of having all these other people around who are, today, very excited about the Kamala Harris campaign," said Cathy Baca.

She is a regular who has been going to Klein's house every Tuesday for more than a decade to make calls.

The volunteers at Nancy's house call voters across the country, sometimes focusing on out of state races, but today everyone had a single focus.

"To help elect Kamala Harris and Democrats up and down the ballot," said another volunteer as she was on the phone with a potential voter.

"This is the most animated phone bank we've had in a while. There's a lot of enthusiasm both with the people we're talking to and among all of us. She's young, dynamic, a female, person of color. All of those things contribute to, it's exciting," said Klein.

She said she will continue hosting weekly phone banks all the way through the election and their next big boost will come when Harris announces a running mate.