Kamala Harris’ run for the White House could inspire more women and minorities to run for office in Connecticut.

But political observers say her campaign also highlights an ugly truth: many candidates still face sexism and racism.

Patti Russo has been appalled at Harris’ opponents referring to her as a “DEI pick.” DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“I think it’s sexist,” she said. “I think it’s racist.”

Russo leads the bipartisan Campaign School at Yale, now in its 28th year of training female candidates from around the world. She said the best strategy is to ignore sexist comments.

“A lot of the noise that’s going on with your opponent, you can ignore,” she said. “It’s really about what is your stand on issues that are important to your voters, and how are you going to make the lives of your constituents better?”

President Joe Biden praised Harris in an Oval Office address Wednesday night.

“She’s tough. She’s capable,” Biden said. “She’s been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country.”

But Republicans are raising questions about Harris’ qualifications. In an interview last week, Connecticut GOP chairman Ben Proto called the vice president a diversity pick.

“Kamala Harris was chosen for a reason, and it had absolutely nothing to do with her ability to be the next president of the United States or the vice president of the United States,” Proto told CT Public’s The Wheelhouse. “It was clearly gender and racial politics.”

Harris has the added burden of being a Black woman, subjecting her to even more attacks.

“She a DEI hire, right?” Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka said on Newsmax recently. “She’s a woman; she’s colored. Therefore, she’s got to be good.”

Some GOP lawmakers echoed the sentiment.

“Biden said – first off, he said he’s going to hire a Black female for vice president, and he just skipped over – what about white females, what about any other group?” asked Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee). “When you go down that route, you take mediocrity.”

But one expert thinks the attacks could actually help Harris and other Black candidates.

“As people begin to understand and learn more about her – understand her track record and what she’s been able to do – I think that people will clearly understand that commentary is really baseless,” said Joelle Murchison, CEO of Connecticut-based EMG DEI consulting.

Murchison is the inaugural chief diversity officer for the University of Connecticut and Travelers Insurance. She said DEI isn’t about filling racial or gender quotas, but casting a wide enough net to find talented people from all backgrounds.

“There is widespread misunderstanding around what DEI is,” she said. “Quite frankly, it’s been co-opted to mean – to have really negative connotations.”

Harris acknowledged her challenge in a speech to the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta on Wednesday.

“I know who we all are. I know who is here,” she said. “And I know, therefore, that we share a vision for the future of our nation – a future where every person has the opportunity, not just to get by, but to get ahead, a future of social justice, health, justice, economic justice.”