Kansas and Missouri Reps Help Make Harris Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee • Kansas Reflector

Kansas and Missouri delegates to the Democratic National Convention have expressed their support Vice President Kamala Harris On Monday night, she secured enough support to become the party’s presumptive presidential candidate.

The announcement from Democratic Party leaders in both states came a day after President Joe Biden has announced he is dropping out of the race.

According to a press release from the Missouri Democratic Party, delegates who had previously pledged to Biden unanimously voted to support Harris. Party Chairman Russ Carnahan called the vice president “exactly the candidate we need at exactly the time we need her.”

“President Biden believed that choosing Kamala Harris as vice president was one of the best decisions he ever made,” Carnahan said in a statement. “His decision to endorse Harris for president has sent a lightning bolt of energy through our country, sparking an outpouring of support, volunteers and small donations.”

The Kansas Democratic Party also announced Monday that it is endorsing Harris.

“We are excited about the future of our country and united in our support!” party said on social media.

In a statement released after she secured enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee, Harris said she plans to “unite our party and our country and defeat Donald Trump in November.”

“I am grateful to President Biden and everyone in the Democratic Party who have placed their trust in me, and I look forward to taking our case directly to the American people.”

Delegates who committed to Biden after the Kansas and Missouri primaries were largely united around Harris before meeting Monday night to show her support.

“She appears to be the candidate who not only has the experience but also the support of … the entire party leadership,” said former Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple, one of Kansas’ 39 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Fellow Rep. and Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes said she saw no way for other potential presidential candidates to win.

“I think she’s the candidate,” Sykes said, “and I think she’s the one who can beat Donald Trump. I’m just going to let the dust settle and see what happens, but I’m supporting her. I think she would do a great job and it seems like she’s the viable option.”

Gov. Laura Kelly, who will also serve as Kansas’ representative, said in a statement that she is “proud to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States of our country.”

“At a time when our country is desperate to restore reproductive rights, strengthen the middle class, protect democracy, and bring people together, we need her leadership now more than ever,” Kelly said.

Missouri’s 70-member Congresswoman April Rivera said that while it wasn’t final yet, she was “overjoyed” that Biden had endorsed Harris.

“I’m a huge fan of the work she’s done,” Rivera said. “I couldn’t be more excited to support her.”

Kenneth Bacchus, another Missouri representative, said he planned to vote for Harris “with all my heart.”

Missouri Rep. Marsha Lerenberg said it wasn’t difficult to decide to support Harris after Biden withdrew.

“I was fully committed to President Biden,” Lerenberg said. “I have not wavered from that throughout. … Now that his successor-elect is Kamala Harris, I am 100 percent behind her.”

Michael Berg, one of Missouri’s non-committed delegates, said he was looking for a candidate who would support a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the supply of weapons to Israel. He noted that children in Gaza had been starved or killed by Israeli forces.

“This is behavior that should not be tolerated,” Berg said. “The Israeli military is behaving in a way that the U.S. military does not behave, and our country should not support this behavior, which is likely genocide, according to the highest court in the world.”