Harris wins key Pelosi support, but some Democrats want open contest

WASHINGTON: US Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday won the crucial backing of Democratic heavyweight Nancy Pelosi to lead the party against Donald Trump in November after Joe Biden’s stunning exit from the 2024 race.

As the endorsements stacked up, the 59-year-old Harris made her first public appearance since Biden’s announcement in a ceremony at the White House where she warmly praised the outgoing president’s “unmatched” achievements.

But while she steered away from any triumphalism, Harris will now feel she has one hand on the prize after securing the support of Pelosi, the former US House speaker and a prime mover in moves to oust the 81-year-old Biden. “With immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future, I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States,” Pelosi, 84, said in a message on X.

A flood of Democratic leaders has backed Harris as the party’s new candidate for November’s election, building momentum for a lightning-fast coronation despite some calls to show transparency with an open primary. But others have urged an open process in selecting the Democratic nominee. Donor Vinod Khosla called for an “open convention” and “a more moderate candidate” in a social media post.”

In a strikingly symbolic moment, Harris hosted a ceremony for college athletes at the White House on Monday while Biden remained stuck in isolation with Covid at his Delaware beach house.

“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said in her brief remarks on the White House South Lawn, as a light rain fell. Harris will make a first trip to campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, later Monday -- not far from Rehoboth Beach, where Biden has spent most of the last week nursing his Covid infection. Harris’s campaign said it had raised a stunning $49.6 million in grassroots donations since Sunday.

A series of other top Democrats have backed Harris, including a number considered as her possible running mates. “Let’s win this,” posted Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, also declared his support, as did Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.Open Society Foundations chairman Alex Soros, son of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, also called for the public to “unite around Kamala Harris and beat Donald Trump.” Democratic fundraising group ActBlue reported late Sunday its “biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle” with $46.7 million in small-donor contributions flowing in since Harris launched her campaign.

Swing Left, a grassroots group which launched a fund for the eventual Democratic nominee on Sunday, told AFP it raised over $160,000 in less than 24 hours from some 1,500 unique donors. Harris must still win over some key hold-outs if she is to wrap up the nomination, but it could happen as early as a remote ballot on August 1, or failing that by the Democratic National Convention starting August 19.