US elections: Harris receives support from many Democrats, but some influential party members remain silent
Kyiv • UNN
After Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, many Democrats endorsed Kamala Harris as their candidate. However, some influential members of the party, including Obama and Pelosi, have so far refrained from supporting her.
Many members of the Democratic Party in the United States on Sunday quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to run as the party's presidential candidate against Donald Trump after President Joe Biden's sudden withdrawal from the race, but some influential party members, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, remained silent, Reuters reported, according to UNN.
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After weeks of debate among Democrats over whether the 81-year-old Biden should stay in the race, the surge of support that has rallied around Harris if she wants to be the nominee is crucial with just over 100 days left before the November election, the paper points out.
"But there are many doubts within the Democratic Party about whether Harris can beat Trump, the Republican nominee and former president. Some Democrats have suggested that the party hold a mini-primary before the August convention," the article says.
Biden himself endorsed Harris on Sunday, issuing a separate statement after the letter announcing his resignation. He was quickly followed by influential black congressional caucuses, several key donors, various lawmakers, and super committees, including Priorities USA and Unite the Nation.
"Today, I want to express my full support and endorsement of Kamala being our party's nominee this year," Biden said on social media platform X. "Democrats, it's time to come together and defeat Trump. Let's do it.
The list of Democratic lawmakers supporting Harris grew throughout the day. By Sunday evening, the list included California Governor Gavin Newsom, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, U.S. Senator Patty Murray of Washington State, U.S. Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, and U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
Dmitry Melhorn, an adviser to Reed Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn and a major contributor to the Democratic Party, called Harris "the embodiment of the American dream," noting that she is the daughter of immigrants.
All 50 Democratic Party state chairmen will support Harris as the party's new presidential candidate, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing several sources. Democratic Party delegations at the nominating convention from Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina and North Carolina said they support Harris.
Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who served as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, also supported Harris' bid.
However, others, including Pelosi and Obama, under whom Biden was vice president for eight years, thanked Biden for his patriotism but have not yet endorsed Harris or any other candidate, the newspaper notes.
"We will be sailing in uncharted waters in the days ahead," Obama said in his statement. - "But I am extremely confident that the leaders of our party will be able to organize a process that will result in an outstanding candidate.
As he did in 2020 when Biden won the Democratic nomination, Obama believes he will be uniquely positioned to help unite the party once it has a candidate, a source familiar with the matter said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who praised Biden's decision to resign, also remained silent on who the Democratic candidate should be.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch, the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to abandon his re-election bid, called for an open nomination process.
One Democratic donor told Reuters that they would support Harris as the presidential candidate and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her vice president as a way to get votes in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state. It is not yet known who Harris will choose as her vice president, if she does become a candidate.
