DNC delegates prepared to back Kamala Harris, foresee spirited convention debate
Democratic National Committee delegate Paul Rosenthal believes history will be kind to President Joe Biden and his Sunday decision to exit the 2024 presidential election.
"The word that I'm seeing a lot and hearing from folks, whether it's Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi or others, is 'patriot,'" said Rosenthal.
Another delegate, Irene Bonham, agrees.
"I thought his decision to exit the race was a courageous one," she said.
Shortly after his announcement, Democratic lawmakers began to coalesce around Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's best choice to head the 2024 ticket against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance.
And while Harris is the favorite, nothing is set in stone just yet. Rosenthal believes that is a good thing heading into the convention in mid-August.
"I think there's a lot of excitement, first of all for the Democratic Party, for our ticket, and even for Vice President Harris," he said.
Bonham was a pledged delegate to President Biden and believes that Harris is in good shape ahead of the DNC.
"With Biden's endorsement of Vice President Harris, it does give her a leg up," said Bonham. "I'm a fan of Vice President Harris."
Last week's CBS News poll among likely voters saw former President Trump leading Vice President Harris by a 51-48 margin. While trailing Trump, that is better than the current round of polling on President Biden, who was behind 52-47. While Harris will take most of Biden's campaign infrastructure heading into the November election, it will be a near-immediate ramp-up if she clinches the nomination at the convention.
"You want to talk about throwing things at a Black woman and seeing how many things we can accomplish, right?" jokes State Rep. Leslie Herod, who was the Vice President's campaign co-chair in Colorado. "The only one that is ready for this job is the Vice President right now. I believe all of those ideas need to be heard out and that's what's happening right now. But at the end of the day, my support is steadfast in Vice President Harris."
Debate at the DNC is still possible. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and other Democratic leaders and lawmakers may make a case to be the nominee. Rosenthal, who is leaning toward pledging to Vice President Harris, says that every delegate's responsibility ahead of the convention is to make sure they are representing their constituents.
"It's incumbent upon all of us delegates to really put our ear to the ground and listen to the voters," he said.
The Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago on August 19.
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