Area Democrats react to VP announcement
A long awaited and debated question was answered Tuesday afternoon, when Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden announced U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, as his running mate.
Harris is a senator and former attorney general from the state of California, and ran a campaign for the White House herself before dropping out in December. If the Democratic ticket wins in November, Harris would be the first female, Black and Indian-american to serve as vice president.
The choice comes following a commitment from the Biden campaign to select a female running mate.
The SDN caught up with some local Democratic leaders to get their thoughts on Harris being chosen as the party’s presumptive VP nominee.
“I think she’s going to be a good pick for the ticket, and she’s going to do an outstanding job,” said Oktibbeha County Democratic Party Chairman John Young. “Of course, we’re going to have to get up and be prepared and give 100 percent effort to get the Biden-harris ticket in the winner’s bracket.”
Young also said he was happy with the election of Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Tyree Irving as the Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman. However, he emphasized that there was still organizational work to be done.
“It’s going to be a good choice,” Young said. “I think he’s going to do a good job for the party.”
Starkville Democratic State Rep. Cheikh Taylor said he was excited for the choice of Harris. He alluded to the numerous firsts Harris would bring if elected, and said he
was particularly excited that she was a graduate of his own alma mater, Howard University.
“Once she’s elected as VP, and Biden will win, then she will become not only the first African-american female, but also the first VP from a historically black college or university and it happens to be from my alma mater,” Taylor said. “I’ll tell you this, it’s also exciting that we have a chance to elect our first Africanamerican female from Howard University as our vice president.”
He also referred to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy, who is another Howard alumnus.
“Those two candidates from my alma mater will be on the ballot in November, and I couldn’t be more proud,” Taylor said.
Taylor also said he believed Irving would be a good leader for the state party. He also said the party had a lot of work to do to be more cohesive.
“With a change of leadership, there is a period of gelling and making sure that people know that you’re here for the fight, that you are capable,” he said, “All those things that make people know that you’re a really good leader in the future.”
“People are very liberal with their thoughts and their convictions, and sometimes those arguments can reach a tipping point, but you know, that also makes vigorous caucusing, but at some point in time we’ll settle down and people will put their convictions aside and get to the work of electing and getting behind that slate of individuals,” Taylor added.
Democratic State Sen. Angela Turner-ford said she supported both Harris and Irving.
“I’m glad that the issue has been resolved,” Turner-ford said. “There’s certainly a lot of excitement about Sen. Harris having been announced as the running mate for the upcoming election. “My support is unwavering.”