Virginia Democrats are rallying around Vice President Kamala Harris this week after President Joe Biden stepped down as the party’s presidential nominee.
“I will do everything in my power to deliver Virginia for Vice President Harris,” state House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said in a statement. “Just as we did last year, when we flipped the House of Delegates, we will also reject the MAGA extremist Project 2025 agenda. We will win Virginia again, and elect the first woman President in the history of the United States.”
Biden ended his bid for reelection Sunday after his debate performance last month fueled divisions within the Democratic Party about whether it was time for the 81-year-old to pass the torch to a younger candidate. Biden quickly endorsed his vice president to take on former President Donald Trump, but Harris still has to formally secure the nomination from the around 4,700 Democratic convention delegates and superdelegates.
“The Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward,” Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said Sunday. “Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people.”
More than 30 Democrats in Congress, and some major party donors, publicly called on Biden to step back as polls showed his numbers slipping against Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.
In a Monday statement, the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus credited Biden for rescuing the nation and economy from the “darkness” of the pandemic and facilitating historic investments in American infrastructure. The caucus praised his decision to step aside.
“President Biden took the selfless action of choosing to put the future of the country and the good of the American people before any personal desire,” the statement reads. “We extend our deepest thanks to President Biden for his lifetime of service and extraordinary leadership.”
All 21 members of the caucus endorsed Harris for the presidency, including Majority Leader Scott Surovell and President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas of Portsmouth.
“Please know that I and other leaders are already hard at work ensuring that Virginia’s votes at the convention will strongly back Kamala for President,” Lucas said.
The Democratic National Convention will kick off Aug. 19 in Chicago.
Harris has also received the seal of approval from Virginia U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats.
“While there has to be an orderly process and the decision ultimately rests in the hands of the DNC delegates, I believe Vice President Harris has the experience, energy, and resolve to lead our nation,” Warner said in a statement.
Warner had sought to assemble a group of Democratic senators to push Biden to exit the race, as previously reported by The Washington Post.
Harris is a former prosecutor and U.S. Senator from California. She is the first woman, Black person and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.
Editorial: Virginia voters will need to hear from VP Harris on the issues
The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus announced Monday that all of its members serving as a delegate at the upcoming convention have pledged to support Harris. Several of those members are from Hampton Roads, including Scott, Lucas, Sen. Mamie Locke and Dels. Alex Askew, Jeion Ward and Michael Feggans.
The caucus praised Harris as a champion of civil rights, environmental protections and reproductive health care.
While Locke is among those endorsing Harris, the Hampton senator has also repeatedly taken to social media to scold Democrats at the national level who showed a “sheer disregard” for Biden during discussions about his bid for reelection.
“The leadership of this party has been so disrespectful to an individual who has done so much for them and this country,” she wrote this week.
Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said it doesn’t matter which Democrat is on the ballot.
“Make no mistake,” he wrote Sunday on social media. “Whether its border czar Kamala Harris or someone else, it’s the Biden/Harris Administration’s weak leadership and resulting chaos around the world and here at home that is on the ballot this November.”
Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com
