Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 59th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 3, 2024. Harris condemned efforts to limit access to voting and reproductive health services. (Will McLelland/Alabama Reflector)
Alabama’s Democratic Party leaders and delegates to next month’s Democratic National Convention Sunday threw their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris for the party’s presidential nomination after President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.
Alabama Democratic Party Chair Randy Kelley said “we will be supporting Kamala Harris” over the phone Sunday, though he added that he believes there are a number of Democrats who can beat former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November.
“This is not a time to be demoralized. This is a time to be reenergized,” Kelley said.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Biden on Sunday announced he would not be seeking reelection amid mounting pressure from Democratic allies and questions about his fitness for office following a poor debate performance on June 27. Biden later endorsed Harris for the Democratic nomination.
Alabama delegates interviewed on Sunday – all state legislators – said they would also support Harris.
What to know about Vice President Kamala Harris, endorsed by Biden as his successor
Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, said she’s thankful for Biden’s “leadership, but also his tenacity that he has to put the country first.”
“I am going to stand with the party because all of those things that we are noting for Biden’s leadership — that have been a benchmark for this country, from reproductive rights to student loans, and I can go on and on and on — are going to be the same with President Harris,” Drummond said.
She said this is a historic moment for not only for Democrats, but also for women.
BREAKING: President Joe Biden bows out of reelection campaign, endorses Harris
“Many of the rights that we are seeing taken away involve women, reproductive rights, IVF and so forth and so forth … I’m excited that he took the initiative to go ahead and endorse her right away so that the job can be finished,” Drummond said.
Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, said she was initially disappointed but after seeing how Biden was treated by “party elites,” but added that she’s excited for Harris to be the potential nominee.
Coleman said now is the time for the party to unite behind Harris with moderates and independents to “not allow a fascist and an authoritarian to be at the reins of the highest position in the land of this country.”
“Our president has endorsed Kamala Harris, and I would urge other delegates also to coalesce around her as well,” Coleman said.
Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, said he “fully had [Biden’s] back,” and that his heart is “immensely heavy at the announcement,” but also threw his support behind Harris.
“As a delegate at the Democratic National Convention, I look forward to enthusiastically supporting the new Democratic ticket,” he said.
Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmginham, said she’s hopeful that Harris can win, especially if she’s able to energize the Black vote.
“Black people tend to really vote and show up at the polls when they have something to hope for. We saw that with Obama. We saw that even with Biden,” Givan said.
Givan said that as a “yellow-dog” Democrat, she feels that “Democrats are going to have to get off their butt, they’re going to have to stop whining, they’re going to have to stop crying,” and support Harris if they want to beat Trump in November.
“I believe that Kamala Harris, in this moment, in this instance, is the best person to take the helm and move forward, but Democrats are going to have to rally behind her,” she said.
Tabitha Isner, vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, said that although Democrats have not replaced a nominee after primaries before, and Harris doesn’t have “pledged” delegates, she supports the vice president for the party nomination.
“We’ll just have to see what happens when it comes to convention time. She would be great. Vice President Harris is a qualified and spectacular candidate. I have no doubt she would make an excellent nominee,” Isner said.
She said she hopes the Democratic National Convention feels transparent and that voters “don’t want a system where an elite group of people get to pick a nominee.”
“I hope that people do their homework and figure out that we are following the rules and trying to make sure that voices, all the voices, are heard and respected, honoring the democratic process,” she said.
Updated at 3:47 p.m. to include comment from Alabama Democratic Party Vice-ChairTabitha Isner.
SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST.
The post Alabama Democrats throw support behind Kamala Harris appeared first on Alabama Reflector.