DNC Delegates Show Support for Harris, but Lack Consensus on VP Pick

With Vice President Kamala Harris locking up support, interviews with Democratic National Committee delegates indicated there was no consensus over whom she should pick as a running mate.

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Regardless of whom you prefer to be the nominee, how satisfied would you be with Kamala Harris as the nominee?

Somewhat

satisfied

Don’t

know

Very satisfied

78%

11%

10%

Not satisfied

Somewhat

satisfied

Don’t

know

Very satisfied

78%

11%

10%

Not satisfied

Do you think Kamala Harris should face competition for the nomination, or should the party move ahead with Ms. Harris?

Don’t know

Move ahead

Face competition

61%

20%

19%

Move ahead

Don’t know

61%

20%

19%

Face competition

Source: New York Times interviews with 251 delegates

Note: “Not satisfied” includes the responses “not too satisfied” and “not at all satisfied.”

By Adam Nagourney, Charlie Smart and Christine Zhang

July 23, 2024Updated 4:56 p.m. ET

Delegates to the Democratic National Convention support the party moving forward swiftly to nominate Kamala Harris as their presidential candidate, rather than going through a prolonged and potentially divisive debate, according to interviews conducted by The New York Times.

Times reporters spoke with more than 250 delegates across the country this week, before Ms. Harris announced that she had collected enough delegate pledges to become her party’s presumptive nominee. The conversations showed that the party loyalists whose votes will determine the nomination overwhelmingly described the vice president as the strongest candidate the party has to run against former President Donald J. Trump.

“Kamala Harris puts us in a much better position to be able to compete, up and down the line, and makes this a much more winnable race,” said John Hendrick, a delegate from Leon County, Fla.

Image

A majority of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in August agreed with President Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential contest, according to New York Times interviews with delegates.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York Times

As Ms. Harris turns her attention to selecting a running mate, the interviews show no clear consensus among this group of party insiders over whom she should pick: 16 percent of respondents said it should be Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, and 11 percent said Mark Kelly, the senator from Arizona. About 28 percent of respondents said they did not know whom the selection should be, or they did not respond to the question.

If Kamala Harris ends up as the nominee, who would you prefer that she pick as her running mate?

Source: New York Times interviews with 251 delegates

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Source: nytimes.com