State Democratic Party leadership enthusiastic for Harris

Leaders and delegates for the Democratic Party of Arkansas said Tuesday (July 22) that the enthusiasm for Vice-president Kamala Harris as the party standard bearer has lifted spirits of rank-and-file party voters, accelerated local fundraising and will help in pivotal legislative races this fall.

The Associated Press on Monday reported that Harris has secured the necessary number of delegates to receive the Democratic nomination for U.S. President at next month’s convention in Chicago. On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced he would no longer seek reelection and endorsed Harris.

Last night, Arkansas’ 36 delegates – 31 elected and five so-called “superdelegates” – unanimously pledged their votes for Harris.

“This was a truly exciting event for the Democratic Party of Arkansas,” Democratic Party of Arkansas (DPA) chairman Grant Tennille said.

“It was an exciting night… One of the reasons I think it was exciting for us is because it came together so quickly,” he added.

Tennille said the private call to discuss delegate choices was a first ballot, voice vote “almost immediately” and there was no discussion of a mini-primary or other option for choosing Biden’s replacement.

DPA Vice-chair Jannie Cotton, who is also a DNC member and a Convention Credentials Committee member, said it was “”an expansion of a historical moment for us.”

“Younger people say they have something to go to the polls for,” she said. “We’re getting people coming to the Democratic Party and asking how they can get involved.”

Tennille and Cotton said Harris’ elevation to the top of the ticket will help in an effort to hold onto legislative seats in the Delta that are currently in the Democratic column, but are open and competitive with Republican candidates. Republicans have an 82-18 supermajority over Democrats in the Arkansas House of Representatives today.

“Kamala Harris, Biden’s Border Czar, would be a disaster as president,” said Republican Party of Arkansas chairman Joesph Wood. “She either lied to the American people about Biden’s condition or didn’t realize with her own eyes what everyone else could see. You can change the candidate, but it’s the Biden-Harris policies that Arkansans reject.”

“She supported every step of his inflation-producing policies, the horrible immigration crisis, and the Green New Scam. The average Arkansan knows that the Democratic Party isn’t focused on the real issues facing our country, whether at the state or national level,” Wood added.

Nationally, there have been suggestions that Republicans may contest Harris being on the ballot in some states. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday that in states where possible, there would be legal challenges to Harris appearing on the ballot in Biden’s place.

Tennille said he had no worries about Harris being on the Arkansas ballot or the ballot in other states.

“There’s not a vacancy in nomination because we haven’t nominated anybody yet,” he said, citing the upcoming August Democratic convention in Chicago.