Virginia Democrats rapidly coalesce behind Harris after Biden steps aside

Vice President Kamala Harris gives remarks in Statuary Hall of the U.S Capitol on January 6, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)

Even before the presidential debate, according to U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrats were concerned about a perceived lack of energy in their party.

But whatever uncertainty came with President Joe Biden’s decision Sunday to end his campaign and back Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the Democratic ticket, Kaine said the elevation of Harris has brought Democrats a new sense of excitement.

“I believe she has an upside that Biden probably did not have,” Kaine said on a call with reporters Monday morning, explaining that Biden and former President Donald Trump are so well known there was little they could do to change many voters’ minds. “Now that we can promote her as a pathbreaking prosecutor and attorney general and a history-making vice president who’s been part of a really solid Biden-Harris track record, I think she has an upside.”

Though it’s too early to measure what impact the Biden-Harris swap will have on the race, the move amounts to a reset in blue-leaning Virginia, where Democrats are expected to win in presidential years but recent polls pointed to a virtually tied race between Biden and Trump. Even though Democrats still had confidence Biden would win Virginia, a recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed Harris faring slightly better against Trump in Virginia.

Multiple polls have shown Kaine, who is seeking to win a third term in the Senate by defeating Republican challenger Hung Cao, running much stronger than Biden this year in his own race. He said he had conversations with the Biden team about some of those polls prior to Biden’s exit, but did not ask them to do anything in response and trusted Biden to make the “patriotic decision.”

Several Virginia Democrats said they expected a smooth transition for the Democratic campaign apparatus in the state. The same Virginia campaign team will be kept in place, and the 17 Biden-Harris campaign offices in Virginia are expected to continue working on behalf of the ticket, despite Biden’s surprise withdrawal over the weekend.

Many Virginia Democrats who publicly backed Biden after his disastrous debate performance last month quickly shifted their support to Harris after the news broke that the president would no longer seek another term in office. Polls have consistently shown many voters felt Biden was too old to effectively serve as president, and those fears seemed to be confirmed by Biden’s faltering answers in the first televised debate against Trump.

On Monday, top members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus announced they would be fully behind Harris at the upcoming Democratic National Convention when the party will officially select a new nominee. 

The eleven VLBC members who will serve as delegates to the convention include House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, and Senate Finance and Appropriations Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, two of the most powerful members of the Virginia General Assembly.

“During a time of chaos and uncertainty after the failed presidency of Donald Trump, President Biden and Vice President Harris put America on track and made our recovery from Covid the envy of the world,” the Black Caucus said in a news release. “We honor Joe Biden’s decency and servant leadership. We join him in our unwavering support for Vice President Harris.”

All 21 Democrats in the Virginia Senate also signed on to a statement endorsing Harris, calling her “the clear choice to succeed President Biden.”

All six Democrats who represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Delegates have endorsed Harris, including Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic frontrunner in the state’s race for governor next year.

“Not only will she defeat former President Trump, but she will set an example for our children,” Spanberger said in a statement endorsing Harris. “She will demonstrate how to be a strong, principled leader who is focused on the needs of the American people — not herself.”

Sen. Mark Warner — the only prominent Virginia Democrat to publicly lend credence to the idea of Biden stepping aside — also backed Harris, saying she has the “experience, energy and resolve to lead our nation.”

Despite a few calls from Democrats around the country for an open, competitive process for picking a successor to Biden, there were no such statements from prominent political figures in Virginia. 

Breaking with the tradition of official neutrality in unresolved nominating contests, Democratic Party of Virginia Chair Susan Swecker also signed a statement backing Harris released by an organization that represents all 50 state parties.

Harris, who served as California’s attorney general prior to becoming a U.S. senator in 2017, sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, but didn’t last long enough to be among the 14 Democrats who appeared on Virginia’s primary ballot that year.

Virginia Republicans reacted to the news by faulting Democrats for turning on the nominee that nearly swept their party’s primaries earlier this year and arguing Harris will still have to answer for the less-popular aspects of the Biden administration’s record.

“Make no mistake, whether it’s border czar Kamala Harris or someone else, it’s the Biden/Harris Administration’s weak leadership and resulting chaos around the world and here at home that is on the ballot this November,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Sunday in a post on X.

Virginia House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said “the ‘save democracy’ crowd in the Democrat party finally ousted their democratically-chosen nominee.”

“No matter who emerges from this mess of their own making, Democrats will continue to make life harder, less prosperous, and more dangerous for all Americans,” Gilbert said.

Attorney General Jason Miyares, a potential Republican candidate for governor next year, went a little further, saying Democrats had lied about Biden’s condition and “disenfranchised” millions of primary voters. He also called on Biden to step down from the presidency in addition to ending his campaign, saying “we can’t afford any more weak leadership.”

Kaine dismissed the GOP’s calls for Biden to resign as the work of “Republican mischief-makers,” saying he sees a clear difference between Biden being able to serve out the remainder of his term and being healthy enough to serve another four years.

“The challenge that Joe Biden faced was not about how he’s doing as president today,” Kaine said. “He has a record of achievement that anybody would be proud of. He reached the decision he reached because he couldn’t look the American public in the eye and say: ‘And I’ve got this for the next four-plus years.’”

With the incumbent president now no longer in the running, Kaine also described the new race as a contrast between the past and the future. Though he said there’s “zero chance” of him being on the ticket as a vice presidential candidate again as he was in 2016, Kaine said Harris’ opportunity to elevate a new leader from Democrats’ “deep bench” will help make that contrast clearer.

“He’s yesterday’s chaos,” Kaine said of Trump. “Kamala Harris and her likely VP pick — I have no idea who that will be, but I know the kinds of folks who are being mentioned — they’re about today and tomorrow.”

This is a developing story that will be updated.

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