President Joe Biden announced Sunday, July 21, that he was ending his campaign for another term as president, and he endorsed
Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. (AP Photo/Patrick Semnsky, File)

Vice president has transitioned easily to the top slot on the ticket, breaking records on the way

DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

Rep. Jasmine Crockett stepped away from a committee meeting on Monday, July 22, to join a Zoom call with reporters to comment on President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race and throw her support to the vice president. “Is Kamala Harris the right Democrat to face Donald Trump in November?” reporters asked.
Crockett had the answer: “Nothing scares Donald Trump like a Black prosecutor.”

Crockett noted that her District 30 delegation to the Democratic National Convention had already thrown its support to Harris, and she hoped the rest of the state’s delegation would follow. By Monday night, Crockett had gotten her wish: The entire Texas delegation had pledged to Harris.

Asked about the idea of holding an open convention and have delegates vote for other nominees as well, Crockett said, “I don’t want chaos. I want to win.”

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins

She also pointed out that Harris is the only one with a fundraising advantage. With her name already on the Biden/Harris campaign, the Harris team needed only to file a simple name change on Monday, taking control of the campaign’s war chest of almost $200 million, in addition to setting an all-time one-day fundraising record.
Donation maps show Dallas as one of the largest Harris donor cities this week.

Shortly after withdrawing from the presidential race on Sunday, July 21, Biden endorsed his vice president, saying it was “time to come together and beat” former President Donald Trump. Since then, Harris has been shoring up her support.

With his announcement that he would not run for reelection, Biden released his delegates to the Democratic National Convention. While his endorsement of Harris will influence the vote of most delegates, it doesn’t bind them to any particular candidate.

But by Monday morning, Harris had about a third of the delegates needed to secure the nomination committed to her and by Tuesday morning, she had enough pledged delegates to assure her the nomination.

In the first 24 hours after Biden dropped out of the race, Harris set a new fundraising record for a one-day period. She raised $81 million. As Democrats rallied around her candidacy, she continued to raise huge sums of money, and, by Tuesday morning, had amassed more than $100 million.

By midweek, the fundraising total was $250 million.

Another indication of the solid and growing support for a Harris candidacy is the stock market. Investors don’t like political uncertainty. Had there been any following the withdrawal of Biden from the race, the Dow Jones Industrial Average would have sunk. Instead, on the first day of trading after the announcement, the market was up 127 points, nearing an all-time high. Rather than a period of insecurity and splits within the party, Biden’s withdrawal from the race created unexpected unity.

Jeff Strater

Human Right Campaign President Kelley Robinson issued a statement thanking Biden for his years of support for the LGBTQ community. “We are deeply grateful to President Biden for his more than 50 years of public service and his longtime support for the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.

Then she endorsed Harris as a good choice for the LGBT community. “The vice president has been a champion for LGBTQ+ equality throughout her career, from officiating some of the first same-sex marriages in the nation to leading the effort to ban the gay and trans panic defenses in California.”

Victory Fund President Annise Parker also praised Biden, saying, “LGBTQ+ Victory Institute commends President Joe Biden on leading the most progressive and inclusive presidential term in American history.” She noted that a record 14 percent of the Biden administration’s political appointments, including cabinet members and judges, were LGBTQ and said he had “created the most inclusive and affirming administration our country has ever seen.”

Parker continued, “We know we have a trusted ally in Vice President Kamala Harris, who works tirelessly toward full LGBTQ+ equality.” She noted that “the possibility that someone like Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg could be her running mate is monumental. The prospect of a Harris/Buttigieg ticket would be a watershed moment in our decades-long efforts to make all levels of government more inclusive and could be the most historic presidential ticket ever in our nation.”

The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, issued a statement on Wednesday announcing its endorsement of Harris. Task Force AF President Kierra Johnson said, “Our decision to endorse Kamala Harris is not simply historic, it is a bold statement about what this election means for the future of LGBTQ+ people in America. It is also a call to action.

“The equity, health and safety of our communities, the hard-fought progress we have made, and the work that still needs to be done are all at stake,” Kierra Johnson said. “Our communities are under attack on many fronts — from access to trans affirming care to immigration, bodily autonomy, in schools, libraries and more — including many issues at the intersections of our multiple identities.”

North Texas Democrats’ response
Locally, Democrats — including LGBTQ Democrats — quickly threw their support to Harris.

On Monday afternoon, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins held a press conference with several other elected officials in Dallas, Democratic officials from Tarrant County and Mihaela Plesa, the first elected Democrat from Collin County in 30 years and first Democratic woman ever elected to the Legislature from Collin County.

They all endorsed Harris.

Jenkins and others praised the Biden administration, with Jenkins saying Biden’s time in the White House was “one of the most consequential presidencies ever,” listing accomplishments like getting the country through COVID then passing The CHIPS and Science Act, the Infrastructure Act, making the internet affordable and getting unemployment to its lowest level in 50 years.

State Rep. Chris Turner heading the Tarrant County delegation said they were “united in our strong endorsement of Kamala Harris.” His top priorities for the new administration, he said, are restoring Roe v. Wade and expanding healthcare access.

In her comments, Plesa said Harris “resonates with women in the suburbs like me and will animate young voters.”

Susie Hess

In the local LGBTQ community, Stonewall Democrats of Dallas President Susie Hess said that, at some point, each person passes the torch.

“On Sunday, with dignity, decency and grace, after great personal sacrifice for the good of OUR country and OUR allies worldwide, President Biden issued a clarion call,” Hess said speaking personally. “I wholeheartedly support Vice President Kamala Harris in her historic candidacy.”

Hess cited Harris’ years as U.S. senator, California attorney general and county district attorney as her qualifications for the job.

On behalf of her organization, Hess and her Stonewall Democrats executive team praised Biden for his successful term in office and his “willingness to pass the torch of democracy to the next generation of leaders.”

“We are committed to electing Vice President Kamala Harris as the first woman to serve as President of the United States and continue the success of the Biden Harris administration,” Stonewall Democrats wrote in its endorsement.

State Rep. Venton Jones said he is “fully endorsing Kamala Harris in my role as your state representative and as a Texas delegate to the

Democratic National Convention.” He praised Harris for blasting “extremists for passing restrictive abortion bans,” for her progressive environmental policies and, as a senator, fighting for middle- and low-income families.

Jeff Strater, former Stonewall Texas president and a Democratic national committeeman-elect, said, “Vice President Harris is the powerhouse we need to beat Trump. Her strong support right out of the gate says it all.”

He called her “a rockstar with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout” and praised her part in boosting the economy.

On a personal note, Strater said, “I saw her brilliance up close at a National Space Council meeting — talk about impressive!”

And on LGBTQ issues, he called Harris “simply fabulous. She worked to reverse the transgender military ban, championed the Equality Act and battled discrimination in housing, healthcare and jobs. Her commitment to justice is unwavering and inspiring.”

Strater said, Harris’ “actions and decisions have already set her apart, making her the best choice to ‘trump Trump’ and lead us.”

After some campaigning, the next bit of business for Harris is choosing a running mate. Hess said she is confident Harris will make a wise choice.

“As someone who fulfilled the role, Harris knows what qualities make a successful president/vice president combination,” she said. “I am confident she will choose someone with whom she has a good working relationship, who is loyal, skilled at building coalitions and who offers additional perspective including objective analysis of her proposals. Thankfully Democrats have an impressive wealth of experienced candidates.”