Just hours after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign, Democratic National Committee members circulated a letter pushing their support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the next presidential nominee.
"We strongly and enthusiastically endorse Vice President Kamala Harris—the candidate with the best experience and capacity to unite our Party and the United States—for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States," the letter reads.
Biden caved on Sunday to the pressure of congressional Democrats, party leaders, and donors calling him to suspend his campaign. Harris has since promised to "earn and win" the Democratic Party nomination and replace her octogenarian boss in the 2024 presidential race.
The letter, signed by at least 60 current and former Democratic committee members, highlights and uplifts the successes of the Biden-Harris administration while simultaneously condemning former president Donald Trump and "MAGA Republicans."
Not all Democratic delegates, however, are confident in Harris’s ability to win. Leaked messages from a private Facebook group for California delegates show committee members discussing Harris’s prospects the night of Biden’s dismal debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
"Kamala isn’t the strongest overall but logistically it’d be the cleanest," vice president of the Stonewall Democratic Club Nico Brancolini wrote. "But imagine the fury if a sitting vice president who is a black woman were passed over for any of the other candidates."
The letter circulated Sunday argues that Harris is the "only person that can credibly claim the torch from the Biden-Harris administration" and is the clear choice for the next nominee.
"As a former prosecutor, there is no one better to make the case for American democracy and against convicted felon Donald Trump than Kamala," the committee members wrote. "Vice President Harris is the strongest potential Democratic candidate who can best protect President Biden’s legacy and long list of accomplishments."
Her record as a prosecutor, however, has some glaring flaws. In a February 2019 interview, the vice president admitted to using marijuana and called for the drug's legalization. As California's attorney general, though, she packed California's prisons with pot peddlers, sending at least 1,560 to state prison, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Republicans have also called into question her ability to serve as America’s commander in chief, given her record as vice president. Though Harris was named Biden’s "border czar," she reportedly never had one conversation with Border Patrol chief Jason Owens or his predecessor Raul Ortiz. The country has seen the worst immigration crisis in its history under the Biden-Harris administration.
Although Harris has won the president’s endorsement along with other notable Democratic leaders, she is not the party’s official nominee yet. The Democratic National Committee will officially select its candidate at its convention next month.