California delegates vote to endorse Harris as nominee
Lauren Gambino
Kamala Harris has earned enough delegates to become the likely Democratic party nominee, after California delegates voted unanimously to endorse Harris.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi made the motion to endorse Harris for president at a virtual meeting of California’s DNC delegation on Monday evening, a spokesperson confirmed.
Pelosi, who represents San Francisco in Congress, announced that with the endorsement of California’s delegation, Harris – a native Californian – had earned enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi made the motion to endorse Kamala Harris for president at a virtual meeting of California’s DNC delegation on Monday evening, putting the VP – a daughter of Oakland – over the top, per a spox. pic.twitter.com/p7xUdJYkZf
— Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) July 23, 2024Politico reports that California delegates voted unanimously to support Harris:
Delegates could still change their minds before 7 August, but nobody else received any votes in the AP survey, for example, and just 57 delegates said they were undecided.
George Chidi
In a call on Friday, before Biden dropped out, Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a member of the party’s rules committee, likened the process of selecting a new presidential nominee to a mini-primary, with delegates as the voting audience. If Biden were to drop out, the process would be “scrunched into three weeks or something. It’d be incredibly tight.” The question at the convention would then become whether a consensus had formed on a new nominee.
But that’s not exactly what’s happened. Instead, members of the California Democratic party have begun circulating a Google document asking delegates to pledge their support for Harris publicly and immediately. A second Google document was circulating to delegates with a form for pledging their support for Harris on a petition.
George Chidi
It’s been more than 50 years since delegates to a Democratic national convention haven’t known their nominee as they walked through the door. Now, in the wake of Joe Biden’s decision on Sunday not to seek re-election, there’s a mad dash.
Delegates are due to convene in Chicago on 19 August, and while the Democratic party seems to be coalescing around Kamala Harris, there’s no guarantee that she will be the nominee, and others could still throw their name into contention.
But just a few hours after Biden’s announcement, Google documents were circulating asking delegates to pledge their support for Harris.
Delegates are, by and large, local volunteers expected to spend thousands of dollars to fly to Chicago and attend the convention. It’s often viewed as a reward for activism and dedication, but it’s typically a far less consequential role than it might be next month.
New York delegation endorses HarrisThe New York delegation to the DNC has endorsed Harris, it confirmed on X. New York has 307 delegates:
The New York State Delegation proudly endorses @KamalaHarris as the Democratic nominee for President.
We’re going to finish the job Joe Biden started and send Trump packing in November. pic.twitter.com/xQctVmo4JS
— New York State Democratic Party (@nydems) July 23, 2024
Lauren Gambino
Harris will not preside over the chamber when when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday.
According to an aide, she will meet with Netanyahu at the White House at some point this week. On Wednesday, Harris is scheduled to be in Indianapolis to moderate a conversation with the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Inc, one of the nation’s oldest Black sororities.
The @VP will meet with Netanyahu at the White House this week, per an aide. She is scheduled to be in Indianapolis on Wednesday to moderate a conversation with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.’s Grand Boulé, when Netanyahu addresses Congress.
— Lauren Gambino (@laurenegambino) July 22, 2024Harris’s absence during Netanyahu’s controversial address underlines the mounting tension between the Biden administration and the right-wing prime minister, as the death toll from Israel’s war in Gaza surpasses 39,000.
The vice president, who serves as president of the Senate, would typically preside over the chamber on such occasions, sitting on the House rostrum next to the Speaker as she has done previously for addresses by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Israeli president Isaac Herzog.
The aide emphasized that Harris’s absence should not be interpreted as a snub or change in her commitment to Israel’s security, but represented a scheduling conflict.
During her meeting with Netanyahu this week, the vice president is expected to discuss Israel’s security, as well as to again condemn the 7 October attack and the acts of sexual violence that have occured while stressing her concern for the humanitariain situtaion in Gaza.
In case you missed Harris’s speech to campaign staff, here is a key clip: