Colorado’s delegation to next month’s Democratic National Convention has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee for U.S. president, joining delegates across the country who have pledged enough support for her to secure the nomination.
President Joe Biden, 81, announced Sunday that he was withdrawing from the race against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the continuing fallout over a poor debate performance in late June, which raised questions about his viability as a candidate. On Monday evening, both the state Democratic central committee and most of the 87 delegates who will be sent to Chicago for the convention convened informally for a virtual meeting.
Party leaders then gave them until noon on Tuesday to vote in a straw poll for the nomination — in effect, asking them if they would support Harris. About 95% of both the central committee and delegation registered their support for Harris, said Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Karin Asensio.
“Colorado Democrats are united, fired up, and ready to deliver our state for Vice President Kamala Harris,” said chair Shad Murib in a Tuesday news release. “There’s no one better prepared to prosecute the case against convicted felon Donald Trump than Vice President Harris, and our endorsement makes it clear that Colorado Democrats are ready to elect her this fall.”
Delegates include Gov. Jared Polis, the seven Democrats in Colorado’s congressional delegation, other officials and party insiders chosen at a party convention earlier this year. The bulk of them previously pledged to support Biden.
In a texted statement Tuesday afternoon, Colorado Republican Party chairman Dave Williams said Biden’s “desperate” decision not to seek the Democratic nomination “is too little, too late, and it doesn’t matter who the CO Democrats endorse because their new nominee will end up losing badly as President Trump continues to dominate in this race.”
A number of Colorado Democrats, including Polis, other statewide officials and all of the Democratic House members and senators, already had publicly backed Harris since Sunday. With more than 300 people in attendance for Monday night’s session, leading Democrats lauded Harris’ candidacy — while Polis, in a moment of frankness, noted a change in the party’s atmosphere in recent days.
“This was a challenging election,” he said, “because, for the longest time, we weren’t able to talk about … Donald Trump’s age and infirmity. Well, guess what? Now, we can. We need somebody who’s ready in the next generation to take that mantle and move forward.”
An unofficial survey of Democratic delegates by the Associated Press counted 37 of Colorado’s delegates as pro-Harris, with five on record as undecided, as of 12:09 p.m.
Nationally, 3,004 Democratic delegates had confirmed their support of Harris, according to the AP. To clinch the nomination on the first ballot at the convention, which begins Aug. 19, Harris needs support from at least 1,976 delegates.
Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, appearing Monday at a news conference to announce federal grants aimed at reducing climate emissions, said Democrats had little time to get organized and beat Donald Trump. Both said they did not oppose an open nominating process, noting that the convention delegates would have the final say — and Hickenlooper said he fully expected other candidates to enter the race.
But Bennet said time was of the essence for Democrats to rally around a candidate.
“I do think it’s important to recognize that time is really short. This is an unusual circumstance we all find ourselves in,” he said.
Both senatorssaid they were ready to support Harris because they have seen her work as vice president.
In TV interviews on both CNN and Fox News on Monday, Polis gave his “enthusiastic” endorsement, while also fielding questions about his own potential interest in joining the ticket.
When asked by CNN’s Dana Bash if he’d consider taking on the position of Harris’ running mate, Polis responded: “Look, if they do the polling and it turns out that they need a 49-year-old, balding, gay Jew from Boulder, Colorado, they got my number.”
Within the Colorado Democratic Party, “everybody I’ve talked to isn’t just pro-Harris, but excited about Harris,” U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver told The Denver Post on Monday afternoon.
The Harris campaign contacted DeGette within an hour of Biden’s announcement, she said. She has worked with Harris on abortion rights since the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 that reversed Roe v. Wade, allowing states to regulate abortion access.
She pointed to the vice president’s early success in fundraising: more than $81 million in the initial 24 hours, according to the AP. “She’s got really solid support,” DeGette said.
DeGette said she was stopped by several people in the airport earlier in the day to discuss the move by Harris.
Several other prominent politicians have endorsed Harris, too. When the Democratic Mayors Association came out with a list of endorsers on Monday, it included several from Colorado, including current Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and two predecessors, Michael Hancock and Wellington Webb, as well as Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett.
They joined the ranks of more than 250 Democratic mayors who backed Harris.
Staff writers Seth Klamann and Noelle Phillips contributed to this story.
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Originally Published: July 23, 2024 at 12:49 p.m.
