New York Democratic delegates endorse Kamala Harris as their presidential nominee

WASHINGTON — New York delegates to the Democratic National Convention on Monday unanimously approved an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to replace President Joe Biden at the top of the party's ticket for the November election, the New York State Democratic Party said.

New York’s backing of Harris came as she appears to have won support in California and across the country of more than the 1,967 Democratic delegates needed to clinch the nomination for president, according to a count by The Associated Press.

“Tonight the New York State Delegation to the Democratic Convention endorsed Kamala Harris to be our Party’s nominee,” Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic chair, said in a statement to Newsday describing a Monday evening Zoom meeting.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and others “made the case for her candidacy,” said Jacobs, who also is Nassau County Democratic chair.

“And on a voice vote, the Committee enthusiastically endorsed Harris for President,” said Jacobs, who on Sunday joined all of the other state Democratic chairpersons in support of Harris.

“We're going to finish the job Joe Biden started and send Trump packing in November,” the New York State Democratic Party posted on the social media site X.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who had not publicly commented on his preference for a Biden replacement, came out publicly for Harris after the meeting. He's the lone Democrat in the House from Long Island.

“The response to Kamala Harris’ historic candidacy has been overwhelming and I add my name to the chorus of endorsements,” Suozzi posted on the social media site X. “I look forward to working with her on common sense solutions to secure the border, reform immigration and reduce the cost of living for Americans.”

“The New York State Delegation proudly endorses @KamalaHarris as the Democratic nominee for President. We're going to finish the job Joe Biden started and send Trump packing in November,” the New York State Democratic Party posted on the social media site X.

Assemb. Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) was elected as a Biden delegate, but since his departure from the race, she no longer needs to support him. Now, she said, she’s all in for Harris.

"I'm going to support Kamala Harris because I think this is a historical candidate," Solages said in an interview. "She has a huge amount of experience. She's been a governing partner for President Biden. And it's only natural that if the president is not seeking reelection, that the vice president be given the first opportunity to run — and she's accepted."

Support for Harris has quickly grown across the country as Democrats seek to regain momentum after Biden’s support began to erode following his debate performance against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The “transparent and orderly process” promised Sunday by Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison to select the Democrats’ replacement for Biden remained a work in progress Monday as Harris has worked since Biden’s announcement to quickly win enough delegates to clinch the nomination.

If Harris succeeds, Meena Bose, a presidential scholar at Hofstra University, said, “The question then becomes, I think, what's going to become the more interesting question: Who will be the vice-presidential candidate and what will be that selection process?”

Here are some of the developing trends as Democrats seek to right their ship.

The rules

Democratic Party rules give the Democratic National Committee the authority to fill “vacancies in the nominations for the office of President and Vice President,” but does not detail the process for doing it.

On Wednesday, the Democratic National Convention’s Rules Committee will convene in an open meeting on the DNC’s YouTube channel to discuss and possibly vote on proposals for the process of selecting Biden’s replacement on the ticket.

Some Democrats want a mini-primary or at least a process to allow other Democrats to compete alongside Harris for their party’s presidential nomination. But others want to move more quickly to back a nominee.

Solages said Harris might outrun any formal process.

“I see that people are unifying and coalescing around the vice president, and she's done a great job within 24 hours to mobilize support. I'm very impressed by it,” Solages said. 

“Even those contenders who potentially could run for president have coalesced around her,” she said. “So, I do think that we're going to have an orderly process where people are gravitating towards Kamala, towards the vice president, to run as a presidential nominee.”

The rivals

Most of the possible rivals to Harris have endorsed her, largely winnowing the field of challengers, suggesting whatever process the convention Rules Committee devises will not present a serious threat to Harris’ ascension to the top of the ticket.

Democratic politicians mentioned as potential replacements for Biden who since have endorsed Harris include several state governors: Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Wes Moore of Maryland.

But that does not rule out Harris from choosing any one of those governors to be her vice president if she becomes the nominee.

The votes

Harris has solid support in New York, which will send 307 delegates to the convention. Nine of its 14 Democratic members of the U.S. House and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have publicly endorsed or expressed support for Harris as the nominee.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), who both serve as members of the Democratic National Committee leadership, have not endorsed anyone.

“[Harris] is rapidly picking up support from grassroots delegates from one end of the country to the other. We look forward to meeting in person with Vice President Harris shortly as we collectively work to unify the Democratic Party and the country,” Schumer and Jeffries said in a joint statement.

Fear of 1968

Though Harris has quickly rounded up support, including from Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a powerful force among House Democrats and a former House speaker, some Democrats still fear a repeat of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Johnson administration's unpopular Vietnam War divided delegates inside the convention and drew thousands of protesters outside who faced a law enforcement crackdown so severe a report later called it a "police riot."

“I hope Democrats will be guided by the sobering history of the last time an incumbent president announced he would withdraw from a race. That was Lyndon Johnson in March 1968, and the ensuing convention in Chicago, five months later, erupted into chaos, division and violence, setting the stage for Richard Nixon’s election as a law-and-order candidate,” said Steve Israel, a New York delegate to the convention and member of the platform committee.

“We all want an open and transparent process, but we can’t afford to go into the convention in less than 30 days divided and repeat that history,” said Israel, a former Long Island congressman. “I don’t want an anointed candidate; I want a consensus candidate.”