Many Democrats back Harris in 2024 race, but Pelosi, others silent
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US Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she attends an Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote presidential town hall on July 13.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - Many Democrats on July 21 quickly backed Vice President Kamala Harris to run as the party's presidential nominee against Donald Trump after incumbent US President Joe Biden's abrupt departure from the race, but some powerful party members, including former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, stayed quiet.
After weeks of in-party fighting between Democrats on whether Mr Biden, 81, should stay in the race, a rush of support coalescing behind her is crucial just over 100 days before November's election.
However, there are plenty of doubts inside the Democratic Party about whether Ms Harris can beat Mr Trump in November.
Mr Biden himself endorsed Ms Harris on July 21,
"Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year," Biden said on social media platform X. "Democrats — it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."
Dmitri Mehlhorn, an adviser to Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder and a major Democratic donor, called Harris "the American dream personified," noting she was the daughter of immigrants.
"She is also toughness personified, rising from my home town of Oakland California to become the top prosecutor of the state. With Scranton Joe stepping back, I cannot wait to help elect President Harris."
Still, others including Ms Pelosi thanked Mr Biden for his patriotism but did not yet throw their support behind Harris or any other candidate.
US Senator Peter Welch, the first Democratic senator to call on Mr Biden to drop his reelection run, called for an open process to nominate Harris.
The Democrats should have “an open process so that whoever our nominee is, including Kamala, has the strength of having a process that shows the consensus position of the party,” he said. “The debate in the Democratic Party is who can carry on the legacy of President Biden and defeat Trump.” REUTERS
