It didn’t take long for the progressive members of the “Squad” in the House of Representatives to come out and support Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president.
Harris herself is considered a very progressive politician, and she ran on such a platform when she attempted to capture the Democratic nominee four years ago, before she was defeated by President Joe Biden.
On Sunday, Biden announced that he would not be seeking re-election any longer, and immediately gave his “full support and endorsement” to his vice president as the party’s candidate. Many prominent Democrats came out in support of her following it over the weekend, and the Squad members are among that group.
New York Representative Jamaal Bowman wrote on social media:
“Now that President Biden has suspended his campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is the most qualified and best choice to lead us forward.”
Many other members of the Squad issued similar statements in support of Harris, including Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley and Missouri Representative Cori Bush.
Pressley wrote on the social media platform X:
“Thank you for your dedicated service President @JoeBiden. And @KamalaHarris I’m all in, let’s go. #BlackWomenLead”
Bush took that even further, issuing a longer statement on X that read:
“In 2020, voters turned out to deliver Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House. The people’s vote was a vote not only for President Biden, but a vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and her ability to defeat MAGA extremism across the country.
“When we say trust Black women, we mean it. Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party and it is past time for us to lead our country forward. Kamala Harris is more than ready to lead at this moment.
“As we look forward to November, it is clear to me that Vice President Kamala Harris has the vision to carry this legacy forward, defeat Donald Trump, and I unequivocally endorse her for President of the United States.”
Dropping out this late in the election is quite unprecedented for a party’s presumptive nominee. Nearly every state has already held their primary elections, with a vast majority of Democratic voters choosing Biden — not Harris — as their nominee.
With the Democratic National Convention to begin in the near future, appointed delegates are now no longer committed to the candidate who they initially were selected to represent. Officially, this means they can cast their vote for whatever candidate they want to be the party’s presidential nominee.
Many political pundits have said that it’s very likely to be Harris, though. Even if she wouldn’t be many Democrats’ top choice if this were the beginning of the primary process, she does seem to be the best candidate now, in late July.
She has national notoriety as the vice president — even if she’s been attacked for many failures while in office.
The majority of delegates are also “Biden people,” which in turn probably makes them “Harris people,” too.
