DNC Delegates Say Party Is Reinvigorated By Harris

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Delegates from New York state to the Democratic National Convention had mixed opinions when President Joe Biden announced he was no longer seeking reelection over the weekend.

“I was very shocked because he was very determined to run and continue to run in the fall, but now I think the president made the right decision,” said Buffalo Common Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski.

Niskayuna Delegate Caroline McGraw is a staunch Biden supporter and said she was very upset.

“Not with him, but with the party that pushed him out of the race, especially at this late stage of the race,” she said.

Meanwhile, Buffalo Common City Council member Leah Halton-Pope said she always planned to support Biden’s decision.

“I wasn’t happy about the pressure, but I support his decision, whatever it is,” she said.

The president has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket.

“I think it’s critical to support the vice president right now because Vice President Harris is on the ticket,” Nowakowski said. “She’s an incumbent and she has the ability to do a very quick sprint for 100 days to Election Day to get voters out.”

Halton-Pope, one of the first Black women to represent the Common Council in years, said she is most excited about Harris’ potential to pave the way for women and people of color.

“Black women are the leaders. We win with Black women. We did the work and so she is more qualified than anyone else,” she said.

McGraw also believes Harris is a viable alternative to Biden.

“I think she’s an incredible person and she would be an incredible president, so I was very happy that if he had to step down, he supported Kamala,” she said.

Delegates believe the move has in many ways eased some tensions within the ranks and re-energized the rank and file.

The convention begins in just under a month in Chicago and they predict a slightly more open process than if Biden were at the top of the ticket, with Harris ultimately getting the nod.

“Our opponents are going to want us to tear each other apart at the convention and I think we have to be very, very firm in not doing that, but ultimately we also have to have a dialogue,” Nowakowski said.

Halton-Pope said this was one of the “most important elections” in a long time and voters and delegates alike needed to take it seriously.

“We have a prosecutor and a criminal,” she said. “I don’t know who would be better suited to fill that position, other than the vice president.”

They expect much of the discussion in the coming weeks, and perhaps even during the convention, to focus on who to choose as vice presidential nominee.