Randall-Sundrum Report on the Democratic Rally Behind a Candidate for the Post-Presidential-Electoral Position
Democratic lawmakers, organizers, and potential rivals rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy less than a day after President Biden stepped out of the race and put his support behind her for as the presidential nominee. When the delegates meet in Chicago next month, she appears to be on her way to the nomination.
Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., seen as a potential contender, told MSNBC Monday morning that he was endorsing her candidacy. “The vice president is smart and strong which will make her a good president,” he said.
They are fellow Democratic Govs. There had been some speculation that there might be a challenge to Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in four weeks, but that was quickly put to bed by the two men who endorsed her.
There seems to be little appetite for a contentious battle for the nomination to take on President Donald Trump and any potential challenge seemed likely to be nominal.
“A lot of people would like to see a mini-primary. That’s the process to find out if you have the strongest candidate, whether it be Kamala or someone else, to get behind,” longtime Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia told CBS on Monday.
The Democratic party has left itself open to the left. Let us see if she comes back. You know someone can change direction or move from one position to another. And I would like to see that direction change,” he said.
Why Did Harris Attempt to Become a Millionaire in 2016? An Update on Harris’s Campaign against Trump and the Exit from the Supermajority Race
Harris raised over $50 million in just a day and the money won’t be an issue in her campaign against Trump.
“These are not ordinary times. Harris sent a text to supporters on Monday asking for $20 donations, and wrote that this election will not be an ordinary one.
Sean Cooksey, the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Election Commission, told NPR’s Morning Edition there are legitimate arguments to be made that Harris isn’t entitled to those funds.
If the candidate is not a candidate for the general election, all contributions made for it will be either returned or redesignated.
He would have to consider his interpretation if the Trump campaign filed a complaint with the FEC or requested an opinion on Biden handing over his money to Harris.
It is possible that Democrats’ efforts to do are challenged in court since they do not have a long time to hear those complaints.
Biden’s exit from the race upends Trump’s campaign too. Republicans are well-versed in campaigning against Harris, but the elevation of the first multiracial woman will inject new elements of race and gender into a contest that previously was between two elderly white men.
“Kamala Harris will not be able to outrun the Harris-Biden record or her radical left wing record from the California days” said Trump spokesman Jason Miller.
Specifically, Republicans are already highlighting Harris’s more liberal immigration positions and will argue that she “covered up” for Biden’s mental acuity. Chris LaCivita, an official in the Trump campaign, said that the person lied every day about it.
Speculation quickly fell to contenders in must-win swing states such as Shapiro, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, or Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, where Harris has already traveled frequently in this campaign.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. has won statewide races twice and could put back on the map a state that Democrats believe had largely slipped away from Biden by the time he exited the race.
Can Harris — or any other Democrat – access Biden campaign money? A response to a question of kinematics between campaign finance and campaign finance
The convention is just four weeks away and Democrats will not have time to find a running mate, so voters won’t have to wait much until the convention to find out.
At the beginning of July, the Biden campaign had $240 million in cash on hand. There is a question of whether or not other candidates should have access to that money now that the President Biden is no longer in the race.
The FEC has long been hobbled by partisanship and a lack of resources in being able to address these kinds of matters in timely ways. Penalties relating to campaign violations can be quite high, but they are usually less than the millions spent on campaigns.
Cooksey said that the processes can take a long time and we don’t have a lot of time until the election.
Clever lawyers can always come up with new problems, I think. It’s kind of what they do. I think it will be someone who attempts to challenge it in some way.
The committee is the same, Weintraub said. She has never had a separate contribution limit apart from this one, she has always been a part of that committee. It’s not just me. Lawyers all over town seem to be saying the same thing. I wouldn’t keep an open mind, but it doesn’t seem that complicated to me, as someone could easily come up with a technical argument.
She points to the fact that Harris’ name was always on the statement of organization for the Biden presidential campaign committee as one of the candidates.
Source: Can Harris — or any other Democrat — access Biden campaign money?
FEC Secretary Ellen Weintraub: The Biden Campaign is Changing Its Name to The Harris Campaign as a Slam Dunk
Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat and vice chair of the FEC, said that it didn’t seem that complicated to her. She has been commissioner of the agency for many years.
The Biden campaign is already changing its name to the Harris campaign despite right-wing campaign finance lawyers not seeing it as a slam dunk.
