Kamala Harris speaks to campaign staff in Wilmington as Pa. delegates unanimously back her; Josh Shapiro doesn't deny VP interest

Pennsylvania Democrats are all in for Kamala Harris.

The state’s 159 delegates to the Democratic National Convention unanimously voted Monday to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee in the high-stakes November contest with former President Donald Trump.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy met with former President Donald Trump at his Bedminster, N.J. property on Saturday to wish him well after the attempted assassination attempt a week earlier at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., a spokesperson for the governor said Monday.

The meeting was first reported by the Washington Post.

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered the first speech of her presidential campaign at the Wilmington headquarters, formerly of the Biden-Harris campaign, now of her campaign.

Harris, who walked into the room to thunderous applause as "Freedom" by Beyonce played, said in the days ahead she will do “everything in my power to unite our Democratic party, to unite our nation and to win this election.”

In his first public spoken remarks since dropping out of the race, President Joe Biden threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris and made clear he’s “not going anywhere” Monday night.

In a surprise verbal appearance, the president called into Harris’ campaign appearance in Wilmington, Delaware. He said he would have been there in person if he wasn’t sick with COVID-19.

Vice President Kamala Harris stopped at the Wilmington headquarters Monday late-afternoon, where at least 100 staffers greeted her with a standing ovation in a room covered in signs that read “Harris for President,” “Restore Roe” and “Kamala," according to pool reports.

One wall was still papered in the “Biden-Harris” campaign logo.

Philadelphia City Councilmember Nina Ahmad stood on a stage at the Pennsylvania Convention Center earlier this month and asked a crowd of Asian American and Pacific Islander voters what representation looked like.

“It looks like having the first ever Asian American and African American woman as our vice president, Kamala Harris,” she said, answering her own question.

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, which was adopted from President Joe Biden's former campaign, said it raised $81 million in its first 24 hours.

This amount includes money raised by the campaign, Democratic National Committee, and joint fundraising committees, according to the campaign.

All nine members of the Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Congressional delegation and both of the commonwealth's Democratic senators have officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party's nominee for president.

Within roughly a day of President Joe Biden withdrawing from the race and endorsing his VP to be the nominee, Democratic leaders in the critical battleground state have been fairly quick to endorse Harris, though some took longer than others.

Gov. Josh Shapiro neither confirmed nor denied his interest in becoming Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Monday, as speculation swirled around him and a handful of other potential candidates.

Shapiro, swarmed by national media at a news conference in Pittsburgh the day after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed his vice president, said Harris will make the “deeply personal decision” of choosing who she wants to campaign and govern with.

Tom Herman, a DNC delegate for the 6th Congressional District who lives in Morgantown in Berks County, said he believes a Democratic ticket with Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee and Gov. Josh Shapiro as the vice presidential nominee would be ideal because of their gender, geographic, and racial dichotomies.

“There is a dichotomy to the nation,” said Herman, who retired as president of SEIU Local 668 and now works as a consultant. “This balance is that. Not only is it an east-west, it’s a male-female team, which is also a plus. Not only that, we have a person of color and a caucasian running. And I think that’s going to be a perfect marriage for this ticket.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has earned the support of two figures consequential to Philadelphians. No, we’re not talking about Gov. Josh Shapiro or Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (though they’ve also extended their support). This is about Questlove and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

Following President Joe Biden’s endorsement of Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination, a number of celebrities — including Barbra Streisand, Charli XCX, and Cardi B — voiced their support for Harris.

Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Wilmington, Del. this afternoon to stop by the campaign's headquarters, her first visit since Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

Harris' motorcade left the White House at 2:41 p.m., according to pool reports. She was expected in Wilmington sometime in the 3 p.m. hour. where she will greet staff.

Sen. John Fetterman, who fiercely defended President Joe Biden’s ability to remain the Democratic nominee, seemed to need a day to express his frustration before coming out with an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Around 12:30 p.m. Monday, the Pennsylvania Democrat posted a simple and clear message: “Proud to support and be all in for the next president, [Kamala Harris].”

While the topic of Monday's meeting was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, Pennsylvania chatter quickly shifted to promoting Gov. Josh Shapiro to be her running mate.

In two separate meetings on Monday the state party’s executive committee and then its contingent of county and regional chairs voted to formally endorse Harris.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) endorsed Kamala Harris Monday afternoon, offering her "enthusiastic support" to the Democratic frontrunner following Joe Biden's exit from the race.

"Officially, I have seen Kamala Harris's strength and courage as a champion for working families, notably fighting for a woman's right to choose," Pelosi said in a statement. "Personally, I have known Kamala Harris for decades as rooted in strong values, faith and a commitment to public service."

Pennsylvania’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention unanimously voted Monday to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee in the high-stakes contest with former President Donald Trump.

In a vote on Zoom Monday afternoon, convened after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday, delegates voice-voted to back Harris.

Democrats are rallying around Kamala Harris as their presidential nominee after receiving Joe Biden’s endorsement Sunday following his exit from the 2024 election. 

Delegates in Pennsylvania, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Louisiana have all voted unanimously to support Harris’ bid for the White House. 

It’s a Kamala meme summer — coconut tree and all.

Following Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic announcement that she’d seek the country’s highest office, a meme that started off with negative connotations quickly became unofficial campaign iconography among Gen Z supporters and other hyper-online constituents.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic party’s presidential nominee, saying in a statement Monday that Harris is “prepared to meet this moment.”

The mayor, who leads the largest city in a critical swing state, has campaigned with Harris several times. Parker recalled that, in September 2020 ahead of the general election, Harris met with Philadelphia business leaders in her Mount Airy backyard.

In her first public appearance since being endorsed by President Joe Biden as the next presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, Vice President Kamala Harris discussed Biden's time in office, calling his accomplishments "unmatched in modern history."

"In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office," Harris said.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Kamala Harris Monday morning, calling the vice president "a former prosecutor" and "a champion for reproductive freedoms."

Later, when speaking to local reporters, Whitmer suggested she wouldn't be interested in joining the ticket and running alongside Harris as her vice president.

Former Vice President Mike Pence praised President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the presidential race Monday, thanking him for "putting the interests of our Nation ahead of his own.

Pence was Donald Trump's running mate in 2016 and 2020, but has said he isn't endorsing his former boss after refusing to go along with attempts to overthrow the 2020 election. Instead, Trump's running mate this time is Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

Pennsylvania Democratic chairman, state Sen. Sharif Street is convening an emergency meeting with all Pennsylvania delegates Monday at 1 p.m. with the purpose of holding a vote to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Pursuant to Pennsylvania’s bylaws we’re doing the best we can to make it clear that our delegates, our organization and our state party and all other permutations support Kamala Harris for president and we hope to have that all wrapped up by today," Street said.

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle described the assassination attempt against Donald Trump as “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades” and took “full responsibility” for how it unfolded as she opened testimony Monday before the House Oversight Committee.

Still, she said, she expressed confidence in her agency’s performance and the individual agents who protected the former president’s life during the shooting at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pa.

“The vice president is smart and strong, which will make her a good president,” Kentucky Gov. Any Beshear said during a Monday morning appearance on MSNBC. “But she’s also kind and has empathy, which can make her a great president.”

Beshear praised Harris’ resume as a former prosecutor and says she’s ready to assume the presidency. He says he’s willing to do everything he can to support her.

Members of Congress are convening a series of oversight hearings this week, hoping to learn more about the security lapses that allowed Allegheny County man Thomas Matthew Crooks to carry out his failed July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa.

First up at 10 a.m. Monday is the House Oversight Committee, which subpoenaed U.S. Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle shortly after the shooting.

Amid speculation he was exploring entering the race, Sen. Joe Manchin (I., W. Va.) said he is not running for president Monday morning during an interview on CBS.

“I’m not running for office,” Manchin said. “I don’t need that in my life.”

U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic party nominee on Sunday night.

Their backing raises the number of Pennsylvania House Democrats supporting Harris to seven out of nine in the state's Democratic delegation.

Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to speak Monday morning, her first public comments since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign Sunday.

Harris is slated to speak at 11:30 a.m. at the White House at a previously-scheduled event celebrating the 2023-24 NCAA championship teams.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, a Democrat who has campaigned with Biden several times this year, praised the president in a statement, saying his decision to step aside “mirrors how he’s conducted himself his whole career: Put country first, ahead of personal interests.”

Parker said that since taking office in January, she’s gotten to know Biden personally and has “seen up close that he is a decent, honorable public servant.”

Republicans are already exploring legal challenges to whoever Democrats put forth as their new presidential nominee.

In a Sunday interview with CNN, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) predicted his party could pursue litigation to contest replacing Biden – the winner of the Democratic primary election – with another candidate on general election ballots in several states.

Pennsylvania’s state Democratic Party chair said Sunday that a state party vote to formally endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee could come within a day or two.

“As soon as we logistically can,” State Sen. Sharif Street, who leads the state Democratic Party, said at a press conference in Philadelphia on Sunday night. “I imagine in the next day or two.”

Top Democrats in the Philadelphia region endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party’s presidential nominee Sunday and urged their colleagues to quickly do the same.

Party leaders and other allies of President Joe Biden announced their support for Harris shortly after Biden dropped his bid for reelection and endorsed his vice president for the job, saying the party must swiftly anoint a candidate with just four months until Election Day.

Top Democrats in Pennsylvania are pushing for Gov. Josh Shapiro to be the running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris now that President Joe Biden has dropped out of the race.

Shapiro, 51, is a first-term Democratic governor in a critical battleground state that has become key to Democratic victory in November. The former state attorney general and Abington native is a polished communicator who has built up a political brand of bipartisanship and has earned praise from within his own party, as well as from some Republicans. And he’s long been rumored to have national political ambitions.

President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he will end his reelection campaign, an unprecedented decision made four months before the presidential election, and one he said he believed was “in the best interest of my party and my country.”

Biden, 81, quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him. He will continue to serve until the end of his term in January.

President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him, upending the election less than four months before Americans cast their ballots and marking a stunning coda for the Scranton native whose career in politics spanned five decades.

Biden, 81, said in a letter released Sunday afternoon that he was ending his campaign but will serve until the end of his term in January.