Democrats are in array.
After weeks of chaos within the Democratic Party over President Joe Biden’s health and mental fitness, it took less than two days for the party to consolidate behind Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden quit his reelection bid.
Harris secured the backing of more than the 1,976 delegates she needed to win the party’s presidential nomination late Monday, according to an Associated Press tally.
That includes the unanimous support of Georgia’s contingent of 109 delegates. The state party released a statement just before 10 p.m. announcing the delegation’s endorsement.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
“Georgia Democrats know that Vice President Harris is the right candidate to defeat convicted felon Donald Trump,” said U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, the party’s chair and an Atlanta resident. “We are united, our eyes are on the prize, and we’re ready to send her back to the White House as president.”
Harris’ nomination is not a done deal yet. The pledged support won’t be binding until next month, when party officials said delegates would begin formally casting their votes. Still, wizened political observers marveled at the dizzying shift from conflict over Biden’s future to broad support for Harris.
“It only took 30 hours to settle a debate that’s been raging for three weeks,” said strategist Fred Hicks. “Democrats are united in a way we have not been, maybe since 2008. This is a moment.”
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Even state Rep. Ruwa Romman of Duluth, one of the few state Democratic officials who publicly criticized Biden before he ended his reelection bid, expressed cautious optimism.
“This historic moment holds so much promise,” she said.
***
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
BLACK MEN FOR HARRIS. Black men said they were not to be outdone by the Black women who began organizing for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign on the same night it was launched.
On Monday night, a call for Black men organized by former South Carolina state Rep. Bakari Sellers and political pundit Roland Martin featured a livestream video teleconference that surpassed 20,000 viewers, plus thousands of others on other platforms. And the group, working under the “Win With Black Men” umbrella, said it raised over $1 million in two hours.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, the Georgia Democrat, was among those who called in to encourage the Black men on the call to support Harris.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
“This moment will go down in history when the brothers got together to say we are all in for the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris,” Warnock said, as reported by the AJC’s Ernie Suggs. “It is time to show up not just for Kamala Harris, but our families and future.”
Those on the call were also cautioned against misinformation campaigns and bad actors on social media that target messages to Black men intended to make them apathetic about the Democratic ticket.
For months, polling showed that Black men’s support for President Joe Biden was lagging compared to four years ago and contributed to concerns he would not be able to defeat former President Donald Trump in November.
***
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
TRUMP LINE. One man who is obviously not for Vice President Kamala Harris is former President Donald Trump. As her likely opponent for the White House, that’s natural.
But Republicans, who were riding high on a note of national unity a week ago, are now worried that Trump won’t be able to control his attacks on the vice president, whom he dubbed “Dumb as a Rock Kamala Harris” in a post to Truth Social on Monday.
The new nickname for the first Black and first female vice president set off alarm bells for GOP strategists, who know a state like Georgia can slip out of Trump’s grasp if he activates women and Black voters more strongly against him. A post like that could be just the start.
“One day in and he’s already calling her ‘Dumb as a rock,’” one concerned Republican said.
***
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” listen to a recording of Monday night’s live show from Savannah featuring U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. He talked about his decision to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for president after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race.
Warnock, a Savannah native, also talked about his work in Washington and why he is proud that so many of his efforts have bipartisan support.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
In case you missed it, Monday’s show featured Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who shared how he and other Democratic Party delegates are reacting to the news that Biden is no longer seeking reelection. State Rep. Shelly Hutchinson of Snellville, another Democratic National Convention delegate, talked about how Black women are responding to Harris’ campaign.
And the AJC’s Mark Niesse explained the process for Harris to get her name on the ballot in Georgia.
***
FLYING HIGH. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock made the most of his time in his visit to his hometown of Savannah for Monday’s Politically Georgia live event. Earlier in the day, he toured the campus of business jet manufacturer Gulfstream as well as Savannah Technical College’s aviation training center located adjacent to Gulfstream’s research and development labs.
In a news conference, Warnock touted his work to secure increased funding for aviation training opportunities as part of the recent reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. He said the legislation is particularly impactful in Georgia, where more than 100,000 residents are employed in the aviation industry.
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC
He called the partnership between Gulfstream and Savannah Tech, which offers six aviation-specific training courses, a model for the country. Gulfstream’s rapid growth has at times outpaced the aviation expertise of the local labor pool, and Savannah Tech’s programs have helped feed Gulfstream’s 12,000-person local workforce.
“This investment in educational institutions to partner with local industry will take our aviation economy to new heights and allow young Georgians’ dreams to soar,” Warnock said.
***
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
PROSECUTORIAL MATTERS. A frequently voiced knock on Vice President Kamala Harris by Democrats during her 2020 bid for president was her background as a hard-charging prosecutor. Four years later, with a recently convicted felon, former President Donald Trump, as the Republican presidential nominee, Democrats are embracing Harris’ tough-on-lawbreakers reputation.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock noted the irony of the situation in two different public appearances Monday, using language that is sure to be a theme in the months leading up to the November election.
“She is used to making the case against criminals, and it’ll be interesting to see her prosecute that case over the next four months,” Warnock said. “My bet is on the prosecutor.”
***
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
HARRIS EVOKES JOHN LEWIS. The late Georgia Congressman John Lewis got a shout-out in Vice President Kamala Harris’ first speech to staff at campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
In her remarks, she declared that, “Our fight for the future is also a fight for freedom. Generations of Americans before us have led the fight for freedom, from our founders to our framers, to the abolitionists and the suffragettes, to the freedom riders and farm workers.”
Now, the baton has been moved to her hands, she said, according to a recap from the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman.
“We, who believe in the sacred freedom to vote. We, who are committed to fight to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act,” she told her staff.
***
DEMOCRATIC CROSSROAD. In case you missed it, Insider Patricia Murphy penned a column Sunday in the wake of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. Among the many takeaways is her assessment that both of America’s major political parties are “at a crossroads in deciding what comes next and who they are.”
More from Murphy:
Republicans declared last week who they are — the party of the populist, nationalist, often in-your-face Trump. Who will Democrats be after Biden, nearly the last of his kind, is gone?
***
HISTORY LESSON. President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential election late in the 2024 cycle left many political history buffs searching for parallels in America’s past.
Credit: Atlanta Constitution on ProQuest
Credit: Atlanta Constitution on ProQuest
Georgia’s leading authority on politics, University of Georgia professor Charles Bullock, points to the 1968 election and President Lyndon Johnson’s decision not to seek a return to the White House.
Bullock unpacks Johnson’s move in a story published Tuesday written by the AJC’s Eric Stirgus.
***
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden returns to the White House for the first time since testing positive for COVID-19 and announcing he will no longer seek reelection. He has no public events scheduled.
- Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a campaign rally in Milwaukee, her first event since announcing she would seek the presidential nomination.
- The House is working on appropriations legislation.
- The House Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing with law enforcement officials regarding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
- The Senate returns from recess and focuses on confirmations.
***
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
PLAYING CATCH UP. Along Georgia’s coast, sea level rise is more than a political debate — it’s reality, with property owners and local governments forced to deal with increased flooding risks. Exacerbating the situation is that Coastal Georgia, like many parts of the U.S. coastline, is sinking. A peer-reviewed study in the journal Nature, published in March, found much of Savannah is sinking by nearly 1 inch a decade, and 2 inches in some pockets.
AJC reporters Adam Van Brimmer and Drew Kann talked to coastal residents and local government officials about how they are addressing flood risks and learning to “live with water” for a story that published this weekend. The theme? Much more must be done in terms of infrastructure, which is both expensive and time-consuming to build.
***
AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
