2024-07-23 19:20:08
According to CNN’s delegate count, she is far more than the 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination on the first ballot, which Harris accomplished on her first day of campaigning.
And with no credible challenger emerging the day after US President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and endorsing his vice president, it was already clear that the biggest remaining question for 2024 was The Democratic Party ticket is what K. Harris will choose as his running mate (vice presidential candidate).
Harris, who will hold a campaign event in Milwaukee on Tuesday, declared her candidacy for the party’s standard-bearer role in a spirited speech during a visit to campaign headquarters in Delaware on Monday night.
The vice president informed Biden’s campaign staff that they would remain on the job — and that campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez would remain at the helm.
And she made her case against Donald Trump by citing the former president’s many scandals and legal troubles.
She pointed to her time as a district attorney and the California attorney general’s office, saying she fought “all kinds of criminals.”
“Robbers who raped women, fraudsters who cheated consumers, fraudsters who broke the rules of their game,” Harris said. “So hear me say I know the type of Donald Trump.”
On her first day as a candidate, K. Harris collected 81 million. dollars, her campaign announced Monday, claiming it was the largest amount ever raised by any candidate in 24 hours. The huge turnout underscored grassroots enthusiasm for Democrats in 2024. ticket shock. According to the campaign data, more than 880 thousand dollars were donated by “ordinary people supporters”, of which 60 percent donated for the first time in 2024 cycle.
ActBlue, a Democratic donation processing site, called the day “the biggest fundraising day of 2024.” cycle”. Within 24 hours of Mr. Biden announcing his decision, the Democratic super-party organization Future Forward secured $150 million. dollars in backer commitments, said a senior aide to the group. The commitments came from backers who were uncommitted, unsecured or previously suspended, the aide added.
K.Harris was supported by four Midwestern governors: Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Tony Evers of Wisconsin and JB Pritzker of Illinois. They joined Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, California’s Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro. Many of these governors may be considered for the party’s vice presidential nomination.
Meanwhile, the cascade of support for Harris’ candidacy that began Sunday afternoon on Capitol Hill accelerated. Harris has the support of more than 40 Democratic senators and nearly 100 members of the House of Representatives, a number that was growing rapidly Monday morning. A significant endorsement came from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said in a statement Monday afternoon that her “enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris’ presidential bid is official, personal and political.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrats in each chamber, were expected to back Harris soon, several sources familiar with the decision said. Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Representative Pete Aguilar of California, the second- and third-ranking Democrats in the House of Representatives, endorsed Harris on Monday morning.
It also has the support of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, as well as two major labor unions, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Teachers.
The vice president has drawn support from across the party’s ideological spectrum, from moderate populists including Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, one of the fall’s most dangerous Democratic candidates, to progressives including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Endorsement by Democratic governors, senators, cabinet officials and state delegations for Harris proceeded hour by hour, hoping to secure a majority of delegates by Wednesday, two people familiar with the process told CNN. However, K.Harris managed to achieve this on the first day.
“It’s a coordinated drumbeat,” said a senior Democratic aide working on the effort. “The sound Democrats are hearing is the unification of the party around the vice president.”
How Harris and her allies mobilized
Mr. Biden’s announcement that he will not seek a second term ignited a feverish effort by Mr. Harris to consolidate the support of the party, which in the weeks after the June 27 in the debate with D.Trump, the president performed terribly, suffered a crisis.
Harris knew what Biden had decided: She spoke with Biden several times on the phone on Sunday, a person familiar with the matter said. As soon as the announcement was made, Harris — wearing her alma mater Howard University hoodie, sweatpants and sneakers — fielded more than 100 calls in 10 hours.
In addition to her family and staff, the vice president made calls to lawmakers, governors and leaders of influential labor, advocacy and civil rights groups.
Among those calls were former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Clintons supported K. Harris in a statement released on Sunday; Obama did not, trusting the party process.
Harris also called her pastor, Amos Brown III, who prayed for her with his wife, the source said. For dinner, she had pizza with anchovies, Harris’ favorite topping.
During those phone calls, Harris made it clear that while she is grateful for Biden’s support, she plans to earn the Democratic nomination herself. It echoes a statement she released after Biden announced his retirement.
“I am honored to receive the President’s endorsement and my goal is to earn and win this nomination,” she wrote.
Supporters of K. Harris also mobilized
Harris chief of staff Lorraine Voles and California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis led the conversation Monday morning with about 350 Democratic supporters, fundraisers and supporters, a longtime Democratic fundraiser and longtime Harris supporter told CNN. A source on the call said that after bringing together core Harris supporters from her previous campaigns and newly interested supporters, they hoped everyone would be “on the right track.”
The group Win with Black Women periodically hosts calls on the video-chat platform Zoom — but Sunday night’s call had a different tone, with 44,000 people joining, according to its leaders. people.
Longtime Democratic Rep. Donna Brazile said she is picking delegates to support Harris. “I need all of you to sign the delegate commitment forms now,” Brazile said during the call. She insisted that voter registration and fundraising will be key in the coming days.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser also spoke at the interview.
“I know what it’s like to be in Donald Trump’s crosshairs,” she said. “We have to protect our sister.”
Speakers also included former Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty and Texas Republican Jasmine Crockett.
So far, no serious contender is in sight
In the run-up to the Democratic Party convention in Chicago, which begins on August 19, no serious contender has yet emerged to compete with Harris for the nomination.
Any challenge may have to materialize even sooner: The Democratic National Committee is continuing a process that has until Aug. 7. party’s presidential candidate will be determined, party officials announced Monday evening.
Joe Manchin, who left the party earlier this year and is not seeking re-election, said Monday that he will not return to the party or seek its nomination.
CNN previously reported that West Virginia Senator Manchin is considering re-registering as a Democrat and throwing his hat in the ring. But in an interview with CBS News on Monday, he said he would not run.
“I could not believe that there was no intention to hold a primary election or a mini-process. Other countries do that,” Manchin said, adding that he thinks Harris is too liberal, but that she could be forced to swing to the center if challenged.
New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams announced his support for Harris in an interview with MSNBC on Monday, reversing his stance just hours after telling CNN that “there is a process and we will follow it” to determine the party’s nominee.
“We need real, clear leadership, and she understands that,” E. Adams said about K. Harris on MSNBC. “She’s had to deal with the border issue, so she understands some of the things we have to do.”
And he gave a moving endorsement of Harris’ suitability to lead the ticket, urging advisers to “let her be herself”.
The race for the vice-presidential candidate begins
Democratic lawyers are beginning work on a thorough but abbreviated vetting process for potential vice presidential candidates, two people familiar with the matter told CNN, and separate teams will be formed for the top contenders.
Cooper, Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly are among the Democrats who have been asked to provide information about their finances, family history and other personal details, two people familiar with the process said. They belong to a group of about 10 names, almost all of whom are elected officials.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm, Covington & Burling, will conduct a background check on Harris’ candidacy, a source familiar with the plans said.
The selection process is also taking place in public: Cooper and Beshear appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday with the intention of Harris watching.
Beshear, the two-term governor of Kentucky, has announced his support for Harris — and said he is open to joining Harris as her potential running mate, noting that he is “sad to be in” the conversation for the vice presidential nomination.
He also hinted at how he would play the traditional attack dog role. At several points in the interview, Beshear attacked Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who has ties to Beshear’s home state of Kentucky.
“Let me tell you, JDVance is not from here,” Beshear said, referring to his home state and disagreeing with JDVance’s description of Appalachia in his best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.
Beshear also attacked JDVance for past comments in which he advocated strict restrictions on abortion access and Harris advocated for reproductive health protections.
“JDVance calls rape pregnancies ‘uncomfortable,'” Beshear said. “No, that’s just not right.” He suggests that women should stay in abusive relationships. Listen, a domestic abuser isn’t a man, he’s a monster, and no one should agree that anyone should stay in a relationship like that.”
Cooper, the North Carolina governor who endorsed Harris on Sunday, also appeared on MSNBC on Monday but dodged questions about whether he would be open to being her running mate.
“I think it’s really important that we keep the focus on her this week. The conversation about the post of vice president must take place later, R. Cooper said. – I want to make sure that Kamala Harris wins. I’m going to work for her across this country and do everything I can to make sure we stop Donald Trump.”
Michigan Gov. Whitmer told a local reporter she “has no plans to go anywhere” when asked Monday if she would accept the vice presidential role if offered.
Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told CNN’s Dana Bash that “obviously if somebody asked, I would seriously look into it,” but “my phone hasn’t been ringing yet.”
“If they do a survey and it turns out they need a 49-year-old pale gay Jewish man from Boulder, Colorado, they have my number,” Polis joked.
Prepared by CNN.
2024-07-23 19:20:08