Kansas Democrats endorse Kamala Harris

TOPEKA (KSNT) – Kansas Democrats are backing Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden decided to withdraw from the presidential race.

Delegates voted Monday to approve Harris, who is pushing to win more delegates for Congress next month.

Even with President Biden choosing to endorse his vice president, the party is still in limbo. Political science professor Bill Fiander said you have to pay attention to where the money is going.

“We expect his endorsement of Harris will not only bring delegates, but also donors who will fill the need for a new campaign with Harris,” Fiander said.

As Harris launches her campaign to win delegates in the United States, Democrats in Kansas have already pledged their support.

“I think they believe she’s the right person for the job,” said Kansas Democratic Rep. Ty Dragoo. “Otherwise, there would be a lot of chaos, and I don’t really see that. I see a unified message within the party that she’s going to be the nominee.”

There are currently nearly 4,000 delegates attending the Democratic National Convention.
Harris needs 1,976 of them to emerge as her candidate.

“I think there’s a silver lining in the fact that the Democrats and the presidential team moved the debate as early as they did,” Fiander said. “If they had normally waited to have that debate after the conventions, it would have been way too late to start fundraising and changing campaign staff, they really were starting late.”

Although Biden’s decision to endorse Harris is not binding, delegates released by the president can vote for any candidate they choose. A majority of delegates must support one candidate on the first ballot. If that doesn’t happen, a second round of voting takes place, with superdelegates, who haven’t committed to a candidate, also coming into the process at that point.

Once a candidate receives a majority of the delegate votes, he becomes the nominee. The Democratic National Convention is less than a month away on Monday, August 19.

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