More backing for Joe Biden
KAMALA Harris endorsed Joe Biden yesterday and said she would “do everything in my power” to help elect him, becoming the latest dropout from the Democratic race for president to line up behind the former vice-president in his battle with Bernie Sanders for the nomination.
The decision by the California senator, who was one of three black candidates seeking to challenge President Donald Trump, further solidifies the Democratic establishment’s move to close circles around Biden after his Super Tuesday success. Her endorsement comes before the next round of primaries, with six states voting tomorrow, including Michigan.
Sanders, a Vermont senator, countered with his own major endorsement, announcing that civil rights icon Jesse Jackson was formally backing him.
Jackson was appearing with Sanders during a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and planned to say that Biden had not reached out to him for endorsement and Sanders had.
He said he chose Sanders after the senator’s campaign offered responses on 13 issues Jackson raised, including protecting voting rights, increasing funding for historically black colleges and universities, and committing to putting African Americans on the
Supreme Court, according to prepared remarks released by the campaign.
Biden and Sanders, two white men in their seventies, are now the front-runners for the nomination in what was once a field of candidates that included several woman and much younger politicians.
Harris said in her statement that “like many women, I watched with sadness as women exited the race one by one”. “This is something we must reckon with and it is something I will have more to say about in the future,” she said. “But we must rise to unite the party and country behind a candidate who reflects the decency and dignity of the American people and who can ultimately defeat Donald Trump.”
Biden on Friday won the endorsement of former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who was one of the black candidates for the nomination.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker hasn’t made a public endorsement yet.
Black voters have anchored Biden’s comeback since disappointing finishes in overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire in early contests that put his campaign on the brink of collapse.