Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) did the “dab” dance move at the end of her closing statement in Wednesday evening’s debate against California Attorney General Kamala Harris. The two are vying for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA).
The “dab” is typically done after scoring a touchdown in football, or making a particularly impressive shot in basketball, among other uses. It was not clear what Sanchez had done well, other than completing her statement.
In fact, Sanchez had gone over the allotted time, and the moderator had to interrupt her repeatedly towards the end of her statement. As she performed her supposedly victorious gesture, the camera on the live stream focused on Harris, who seemed bemused and perplexed by the gesture as she began her own closing statement, laughing: “So, there’s a clear difference between the candidates in this race.” Most viewers missed the gesture until it was tweeted by reporters.
Sanchez’s dab was the only noteworthy moment in an otherwise mundane debate between two candidates who agree on almost every issue.
Their primary difference is ethnic. Harris, the favorite, is seen as the scion of an ascendant black Democratic political establishment, and enjoys the support of President Barack Obama and California Gov. Jerry Brown, among others. Sanchez carried the hopes for the growing Latino electorate in California, but has struggled to catch up with Harris’s growing lead in the polls, and there are signs that Latino voters are increasingly backing Harris.
Both candidates in the general election are Democrats, thanks to California’s “top two” or “jungle” primary, in which the top two vote-winners in the primary advance, regardless of party.
Sanchez had challenged Harris to four debates, but Harris only agreed to two. Because the campaigns could not agree on the logistics for the second debate, last night’s debate, held at the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.