Pergram: Democrats support vice president
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports that Democrats are endorsing Harris for Vice President.
The decision to replace President Biden with someone else may have been aimed at preserving the seat of a lesser candidate, rather than looking for someone to beat former President Trump. In other words, the polls show that Harris is not much better than Biden, but she may be good enough to preserve the seat.
Holding onto the Senate will be tough, but the strategy may hinge on flipping the House, which currently holds 432 Republican seats, 220 Democrats, and has three open seats. Democrats only need to flip a fraction of those seats to retake the House.
Democrats have nothing but blame the Republicans and the way they have run the House for the last year and a half. Republicans have given them plenty of fodder. They took days to elect former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as Speaker, and removed him by fall. The House then took 22 days to elect Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) after thoroughly eliminating three other Speaker candidates. They have dealt with various censures and contempt resolutions, some of which were against the leadership. Democrats have also covered the various stunts of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Calif.).
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President Biden and Vice President Harris sit on the Truman Balcony at the White House on July 4, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/via Getty Images)
So Democrats thought this whole upset was going to be their big chance to win the House, but Biden was just a drag. In other words, this gambit may be more about the House than the presidency.
The House returns to the Capitol tomorrow, where Democrats are expected to be asked a series of questions about whether they support Vice President Harris filling the spot or someone else.
It is worth noting that senior leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have not endorsed anyone. They just want to see how this election plays out and do not want to favor any particular individual.
Former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina) saved Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election ahead of South Carolina’s primary.
He has supported the president as he continues his campaign, but today voiced his support for Harris.
Hours after Biden withdrew, Clinton and others endorsed Kamala Harris
Former President Trump and President Biden (Getty Images)
It was the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, not the Congressional Black Caucus, that endorsed Harris. The CBC did not issue a statement after Biden’s dismal performance in the debate in late June, but Rep. Steve Horsford (D-Nev.), who is the CBC’s president, endorsed the president and spoke on his behalf.
But when it comes to Harris, math and California might have something to do with it. Forty House Democrats are from California. That’s 9% of the House Democratic Caucus and about 20% of the House Democratic Conference. Harris was a senator from California. So that might be hard to overcome.
It is also interesting to note that Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who ran against the president, alienated some Democrats after questioning the president’s feasibility and stepped down from a lower-level leadership position. The House Progressive Caucus is now endorsing Harris, as are some of its members, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri).
Harris has also been fully endorsed by the New Democrat Coalition, a coalition of mainstream and moderate Democrats, many of whom were calling on Biden to step down early in the campaign.
This has led to a steady rise in resentment towards Biden. “This is not sustainable,” a senior House Democratic source told Fox News the day after the debate, adding that those close to the president “are not serving him well.”
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Vice President Harris speaks (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Let’s not forget that Schumer met with Biden last Saturday in Rehoboth, Delaware. Schumer released a statement about that meeting minutes before former President Trump was shot in Pennsylvania on July 13. It seemed like Democrats were coming out and trying to get rid of Biden last week, but the shooting delayed that a little bit. Otherwise, this conversation could have happened a few days ago. Because of the shooting, it never happened.
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Republicans are now beginning to question whether Biden can serve out the remainder of his term, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) saying, “If President Biden is unfit to run for office, he is unfit to serve as president and should resign immediately.”
Republican lawmakers are expected to begin calling for Biden to resign. They may also launch hearings and investigations into who knew what and when about the president’s cognitive abilities.
Republicans will target candidates who are less likely to gain Democratic support in battleground states and districts, asking them what they know about Biden’s situation. They will also be wondering which candidates will endorse Harris. For example, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) is facing a tough reelection fight but has endorsed Harris. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) is also facing a tough fight but did not endorse Harris.
Republicans are likely to factor the president’s departure into their strategy for this fall’s House and Senate elections.
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