Philly-area Democrats are urging the party to back Kamala Harris for president: ‘The time to unify is now’

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.

State Sen. Sharif Street, chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, endorsed Harris and said he expects the state party to formally do so in the coming days, a sign Harris already has significant support among Democrats in a critical battleground state.

“I have not heard from one delegate who said that he or she would not be supporting Vice President Harris,” Street said.

Still, the fate of the Democratic nomination remained in flux Sunday. While Biden’s endorsement carries enormous weight, it does not guarantee the nomination for Harris, and she could, in theory, be challenged by other Democrats.

Some top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, released statements Sunday praising Biden’s decision, but did not make an endorsement. A faction of party activists have advocated for what amounts to a miniature primary, in which multiple candidates would campaign for support from delegates, who would vote for a nominee at the party’s convention next month.

Harris said in a statement she intends “to earn and win this nomination.”

» READ MORE: Biden dropped out of the race. How will Democrats pick a nominee?

Pennsylvania’s elected Democrats largely stood by Biden in recent weeks, and the resounding response on Sunday was that they would now back Harris as the candidate to face former President Donald Trump in November.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat whose name had been floated as a potential presidential contender, endorsed her Sunday, as did U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, most of the Democratic congressional delegation, and Philadelphia Democratic Party chair Bob Brady, a former congressman.

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat who represents parts of Philadelphia and Delaware County, said in a statement that Harris is “uniquely qualified to continue this administration’s important work, to restore the guardrails of our democratic republic, and to defeat Donald Trump — again.”

And State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Philadelphia Democrat who has campaigned across the country with Biden and leads a presidential advisory commission, said that while he’s “heartbroken” Biden stepped aside, no Democrat should be pushing for an open convention.

”[Biden]’s given us our marching orders to rally around her,” Kenyatta said. “And we are going to rally around her.”

Political strategists and observers said Biden’s departure could give Democrats the opportunity to reset a presidential race that most polls showed they were losing — if they can pick a candidate soon. Republicans are largely united behind Trump, evidenced at last week’s Republican National Convention, where there was little dissension.

“If [Democrats] can quickly consolidate around a candidate and sort of unify the party, this is a complete reset of the race,” said Berwood Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College. “It’s still a risk. It’s a huge risk.”

» READ MORE: Read President Joe Biden’s full letter ending his reelection campaign

Gianni Hill, a Democratic consultant and a party delegate from Philadelphia, said Harris could take over Biden’s campaign infrastructure and absorb his coalition, saying it would be “political malpractice” for the party to nominate anyone else at the top of the ticket.

In a call on Sunday, Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon told Biden staff from around the nation that all staffers will keep their jobs and go on to work for the Harris campaign if she becomes the nominee. The Biden campaign currently has more than 200 people on staff in Pennsylvania.

While some Democrats in the state called it a sad day for Biden, there was enthusiasm surrounding Harris. Alan Kessler, a fundraiser for Biden from Philadelphia, said he was already getting calls Sunday from people who wanted to donate to help Harris win.

”A variety of different phones are blowing up,” Kessler said. “It really infused an enthusiasm and excitement. Things had just gotten so dreary. This is a shot in the arm.”

Still, some delegates were undecided Sunday. T.J. Deluca, a delegate from Delaware County, pointed out that DNC rules require delegates to support the wishes of the voters who elected them “in all good conscience.”

”This means that I should personally take the time to listen to my, albeit temporary, constituents and do my best to listen to their thoughts and feelings and vote as a reflection of them,” DeLuca said, “because that’s how we keep it a democratic process.”

Harris’ supporters noted the historic nature of her candidacy — she would be the first woman of color to ever be the presidential nominee of a major political party — and the potential for her to be the first female president in American history.

Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, has throughout her time as vice president credited her mother and generations of women before her for paving the way for her historic career. She would be the first Asian American president and first Black woman to hold the role if elected.

“Her candidacy is historic,” said U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, a Democrat who represents parts of South Jersey and is the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate, “not just the opportunity to elect the first woman, the first AAPI President, and a Black woman, but to continue on the incredible progress we’ve started.”

He added: “The time to unify is now.”

Harris is widely seen as someone who could help Democrats recapture parts of the coalition that have eroded recently, including young people and voters of color. She has also been the administration’s go-to person attacking abortion bans nationwide, an issue that could be particularly motivating for female voters.

But Harris, who has faced sexist and racist attacks throughout her career, will now have to contend with a GOP who has readied for the possibility she will become the nominee. At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week, speakers blasted her as a protector of Biden, to the detriment of the country, and called her “Biden’s border czar,” as they blamed her for immigrant crossings.

And Republicans railed against Biden’s decision on Sunday.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican who represents parts of central Pennsylvania and is a top Trump ally in the state, slammed Biden’s decision as “undemocratic” in a statement.

He said the Democratic Party’s path forward amounts to “working behind closed doors with no input from the voters.” Meuser voted against the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Democrats also previewed how they’d present Harris as an alternative to Trump. U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, a Democrat who represents parts of Philadelphia, said he is “all in” for the vice president and that he looks forward to contrasting Harris, previously a prosecutor and state attorney general, with Trump, the first U.S. president to become a convicted criminal.

“She’ll blow up Mr. Trump as a prosecutor,” Brady added. “He’ll probably be too scared and won’t debate her. I think she’ll do a great job, and we’ll wholeheartedly be there for her.”

Inquirer staff writers Aliya Schneider, Fallon Roth, Gillian McGoldrick, and Rob Tornoe contributed reporting.