The fate of the Democratic ticket will be in the hands of the delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention. NBC’s Sophia Beausoleil spoke with the vice chair of the Democratic Party of Texas.
After President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek reelection, he endorsed Vice President Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee. Even though she has his support, the fate of the Democratic ticket will be in the hands of the delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
“I was surprised, but I was also encouraged," said Shay Wyrick Cathey, the Vice Chair of the Texas Democratic Party, about President Biden dropping out of the race. "I was encouraged that he decided to make this decision well before our convention to give us a chance to formally ratify a new nominee."
Wyrick Cathey, who is also a delegate, said she understood why Biden would choose Harris.
"It makes perfect sense. The people who went to support him for this campaign knew that she would be our vice presidential nominee and she's been the vice president for four years. She is ready, she has been tested, and he chose her knowing that if there was an opportunity for him to have to step aside, she'd be the one to take his place. So it makes perfect sense and I'm very excited that he did that," said Wyrick Cathey.
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She recently spoke to Vice President Harris, a sorority sister, when she attended the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 71 Boule in Dallas two weeks ago.
According to the Dallas Morning News, AKA has more than 350,000 members nationwide. Danette Anthony Reed, the organization's president and CEO, is from Dallas.
Harris, who is an AKA herself, spoke to more than 20,000 members at the national meeting held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas. She told her sorority sisters about what the party was fighting for. She touched on protecting voting rights, capping insulin prices for diabetes, student loan debt, and access to abortion.
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While in North Texas, the talk was already swirling about Harris possibly replacing Biden as the presidential nominee after Biden's poor debate performance. Fast forward to Sunday, and it became a reality.
"I fully expect her to be our nominee. I don't expect there to be much dissension among the party," said Wyrick Cathey.
On Sunday the formal filings to the Federal Elections Commission, FEC, were amended and Harris was named as a candidate for president.
Before she can be called the official 'Democratic presidential nominee,' the majority of delegates at the Democratic National Convention in August must vote for her.
"The Democratic Party has two options right now, one is rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive nominee in which case it would be a relatively straight forward process," said Mark Jones, a professor of political science at Rice University. "The other option would be waiting for the actual convention to have what’s called an open convention where local candidates compete for the support of delegates and whoever gets an absolute majority of delegate support becomes the nominee.”
Wyrick Cathey believes Harris will get those votes.
"She's always been warm and welcoming. She's sharp, she's competent. I mean, she's the vice president of the United States, and he did a great job and he [Biden] picked her four years ago, and I'm excited about confirming her in August and her being our next president," said Wyrick Cathey. She said there will be a call on Monday night for all the Texas delegates to discuss formally endorsing Harris.
