Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Monday evening became the heaviest name to have so far expressed her support for Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate.
Even Bill and Hillary Clinton, who both held or ran for the presidency, support Harris.
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Harris has already managed to gather broad support within the otherwise rather divided party. Over 1,000 Democratic delegates support Harris, writes CNN. The AP news agency also states that there appears to be strong support for Harris – according to a poll, she is supported by more than half of the required number of people.
To get a majority, and thus win, 1,986 delegates are required. Sources within the party tell Reuters that they believe they will have secured the support of a majority of delegates as early as Wednesday.
Kamala Harris. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Hundreds of campaign calls in a few hours
The road to the nomination could be relatively painless for Harris – not only because of the great support, but also because several of the names previously mentioned as potential candidates have sided with her. Among them can be mentioned the two governors Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer.
It didn’t take long for Harris to start campaigning on Sunday. Ten hours were spent making over 100 phone calls to party colleagues, sources told NBC.
Silence from elsewhere
But not all Democrats seem to have fully embraced the idea of Harris as a presidential candidate. Neither Chuck Schumer nor Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic group leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, have openly said they support Harris. However, Jeffries says that they will meet with Harris soon and that he is looking forward to it.
One person whose support Harris is probably hoping for a little extra is former President Barack Obama’s. Shortly after Biden’s announcement, Obama went out of his way to thank and praise his former vice president — but without mentioning Kamala Harris.
Sources told NBC that Obama does not want to endorse any candidate until he is formally chosen, as he wants to use his position as a unifying force to get the entire party to rally behind him. In fact, Obama also did not wholeheartedly endorse Biden as a candidate in 2020. It was only after Bernie Sanders, Biden’s last primary rival, dropped his campaign that Obama announced his support for his former match horse.