Democratic megadonors hope to slow down Harris nomination, but no challenger | Wilnesh News

Some of the Democratic Party’s top donors have been urging the party to halt the nomination rush for Vice President Kamala Harris, arguing for a more “open” and inclusive process that would allow delegates to evaluate several potential nominees. The problem is, there aren’t any serious contenders.

As of Monday evening, it appeared that no potential challenger for the Democratic nomination had yet endorsed Harris.

“This decision is too important to be rushed because the election is too important to lose,” billionaire and longtime donor Mike Bloomberg said in a statement on Monday. Notably, he did not endorse Harris. His net worth exceeds $100 billion, according to Bloomberg Forbes.

“Democratic representatives need to elect a swing state winner,” Reed Hastings, executive chairman of Netflix and a longtime Democratic donor, said on social media. postal On Sunday, shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

But the idea that Harris should have a challenger to give Democrats a choice, while popular with some Democratic donors, has so far found no takers among Democratic elected officials who are expected to actually mount a challenge.

Instead, Democratic governors, senators and House members have been lining up to support Harris rather than wait to see if any potential alternatives emerge.

Democrats’ refusal to respond to calls from donors who want to slow down the nomination process stands in stark contrast to how many donors have successfully lobbied lawmakers to call on Biden to withdraw from the race.

Democrats on Monday moved full steam ahead with their bid for a new front-runner, despite urging from some big donors to pause the process.

So far, no Democrats have signaled plans to launch a counter campaign against Harris as she has won support within the party and soared in donations.

Within hours of Biden dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris, most of her campaign’s potential challengers were not running and instead endorsed the vice president.

These include California Governor Gavin Newsom, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — both are now contenders to become Harris’ running mate in the vice presidential election.

Harris also received support from top Democrats on Capitol Hill on Monday, including one of Biden’s closest allies, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Pelosi’s endorsement is a key sign that Democrats are uniting around the vice president, just over a week before Aug. 1, when the Democratic National Committee says it can begin a virtual roll call process to name the party’s nominee.