BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Top Democratic officials and others in Vermont are reacting to the news that President Joe Biden is bowing out of his reelection campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris is stepping in and has appeared to fend off any challengers for the Democratic nomination.
Many Vermont Democrats are quickly gathering around the vice president and are beginning to build political momentum. Over the weekend, the chair and vice chair of the Vermont Democratic Party met with their counterparts across the country and backed Harris.
It was a political earthquake with an aftershock in the Green Mountains.
“I was actually sad for him. He did the right thing but this is really tough. Spend your whole career in politics then can’t run,” said Howard Dean, a former Vermont governor and DNC chair. “I don’t think his cognitive deficiencies– which there were some– would have made it impossible for him to run the country. But politics is not a fair business, and that’s all that was going to be talked about between now and November, and he realized that. And realized he couldn’t win as a result of that.”
Dean says Biden has a productive legislative record.
He expects Harris and Democrats will go on the offense against Republicans if she wins the nomination.
“I can’t imagine any Democrat being a better candidate than her,” Dean said.
“He can point to more than most presidents can point to than they’ve done in two terms,” former Vermont senator Patrick Leahy said.
Leahy and Biden entered office around the same time in the 1970s and developed a close personal relationship.
Leahy says he supports Harris, who he appointed to the Senate Judicary Committee, at the top of the ticket.
“She was always well-prepared and she will be well-prepared to become president,” Leahy said.
Sen. Peter Welch was the first senator to call for Biden to step aside. He thanked the president for his service but stopped short of fully endorsing Harris, instead wanting to leave the nominating process open at the convention.
“Having an open process where you’re acknowledging the importance of grassroots people and giving them the opportunity to weigh in,” said Welch, D-Vermont.
Vermont will send 24 delegates to the Democratic National Convention next month in Chicago. Sixteen were pledged for Biden, but since he has dropped out, they are allowed to make another selection. Many are already rallying around Harris.
“She will be the first Black, the first South Asian, the first female president: a lot of firsts. But it’s beyond that. We will be electing someone who has actually shown us how she would lead,” said C.D. Mattison, a Vermont DNC delegate.
“I think the energy and enthusiasm for her candidacy and for really the nationwide efforts of the party up and down the ballot in the last 24 hours have been really heartening and given us all a lot of hope and energy,” said Samantha Sheehan, a Vermont DNC delegate.
But Republicans tell us this shakeup won’t change the nature of the race.
“Whether it’s Kamala Harris or some other Democrat, I think Republicans still have the majority of voters on their side on the main issues: affordability, public safety and the border,” said Paul Dame, the chair of the Vermont Republican Party.
Vermont’s delegation is meeting Monday night to suss out details about who they will support heading into the convention which kicks off next month in Chicago.