By Cate Charron and Taylor Wooten
Indiana Business Journal
Several Indiana delegates to the Democratic National Convention say they plan to support Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee after President Joe Biden announced this weekend that he is withdrawing from the race.
But the Democratic National Committee still has many details to work out before delegates can cast their votes, including whether the vote will be taken virtually before the convention, which is set for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl, who is a superdelegate, said the party is uniting quickly behind Harris. That is reflected in the over $50 million raised for her campaign in less than 24 hours as well as all 50 state chairs unanimously endorsing her as their candidate, he said. Biden’s endorsement of Harris also “carries tremendous weight,” he said.
Schmuhl said the party appears to be moving toward a virtual roll call and that guidance from the DNC rules and bylaws committee will be shared “very, very soon.”
The Associated Press reported Monday that the committee will meet virtually on Wednesday. He said the next few weeks could look like a two-step process where a candidate is confirmed to be the nominee, and the convention later serves as the presentation of the candidates’ platform.
The Indiana Election Division’s Matthew Kochevar, who is a delegate, said supports Harris and is waiting to hear what the nomination process will look like.
“My thoughts are that it needs to be something that everyone will understand because we don’t have a lot of time,” he said.
Regarding the potential of other candidate challenging Harris, Kochevar said that remains to be seen, but he predicted that delegates will stand behind Harris as they did for Biden. If there is competition for the nomination, he said the DNC will guide delegates on the process.
Derek Camp, who is the Allen County party chair, Wayne Township Assessor and a delegate, echoed that the party is largely enthusiastically endorsing Harris as its candidate to keep former President Donald Trump from winning another term. He said “protecting democracy” and reproductive rights will likely be two major focuses he expects to see.
As a delegate awaiting word on what the nomination process will look like, Camp said “he’s along for the ride” but has no doubt Harris will be nominated.
Delegate and state Rep. Cherrish Pryor also gave her support to Harris in a post on X, saying “Can’t wait to officially say President Harris.” Indianapolis City-County Councilor and delegate Nick Roberts also said on X he intends to vote for Harris and is working with her campaign to win over the youth vote.
Seventy-nine of Indiana’s 88 delegates for the national convention were chosen at the state convention on July 13. Nine others, including Schmuhl, are automatic delegates. State party spokesman Sam Barloga told IBJ in an email that the official list of delegates has yet to be released because some are still trying to work out the logistics for attending. Former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly will lead the Indiana delegation as its chair at the convention.
The names of several potential vice presidential nominees for Harris already are being floated. They include Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the former South Bend mayor who has Schmuhl’s support.
“There are two people from 2020 that Joe Biden ran against that are in the current administration,” said Schmuhl, who managed Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign. “One is Kamala Harris and the other is Pete Buttigieg, and so he has that national experience and portfolio.”
Schmuhl said he hopes the new energy of Harris’ campaign could inspire more voters to turn out to the polls.
“I’m under no illusions that there’s many, many folks in our state who support the former president,” he said. “But I think this offers just a freshness and an excitement on the Democratic side that we should take advantage of.”
For Democrats to be successful in Indiana, Camp said, it will take one-on-one conversations with voters, like former President Barack Obama used to help win the state in 2008 as well as former state superintendent Glenda Ritz and Donnelly.
However, he said the enthusiasm sparked already, plus her time spent in Biden’s administration will help her message reach voters on her short timeline.
“She is not starting from scratch,” Camp said. “She has been a part of that ticket and has been a part of the Biden administration for the last three-plus years so she is in a great spot.”
