Alaska Democrats Give Harris Strong Support

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Created on Tuesday, 23 July 2024 15:16

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By YERETH ROSEN

Alaska Beacon

Alaska Democrats have rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris and endorsed her candidacy for president a day after President Joe Biden dropped out of contention.

Alaska’s small delegation to the Democratic National Convention is now pledged to Harris after a Sunday night meeting to confirm that decision, said a statement released Monday by the Alaska Democratic Party.

“Vice President Harris has a proven record of delivering for America’s working families and protecting our fundamental freedoms. She has demonstrated her ability to lead our country with strength, compassion, and dignity as Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President,” state Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, D-Anchorage and one of Alaska’s at-large pledged delegates selected by the party, said in the statement. “I am proud to stand by her as the Democratic nominee for president.”

“Vice President Harris will carry on the legacy of President Biden with unprecedented investments in Alaska and our people,” Mike Wenstrup, the party’s chair in Alaska, said in the statement.

President Biden won an overwhelming majority of delegates across the nation in the primaries, including in Alaska,” Jessica Cook, the party’s vice chair in Alaska, said in the statement. “As part of that ticket, Vice President Harris has my unwavering support.”

Alaska’s delegation to the convention comprises 20 voting delegates, two alternate delegates, three standing committee members, three pages and one non-voting delegate, the party’s statement said. Members of the delegation include six current state legislators and U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, who is up for reelection.

Nearly 4,000 delegates are expected to participate in the Democratic National Convention.

One prominent Alaska Democrat said Biden’s decision addresses voters’ concerns about his advanced age, but it leaves unaddressed similar concerns about former President Donald Trump’s age. Biden is 81 and Trump is 78.

“I don’t think Trump or Biden should have run, either of them,” said Les Gara, a former state House Democrat and 2022 gubernatorial candidate.

Both men have shown signs of advanced age, such as forgetting people’s names, mixing up information and struggling with statements, said Gara, who is not a convention delegate. “That’s just what happens with the ravages of age,” he said.

Biden was responsive to that concern, but Trump was not, he said. “When a majority of the country says we want younger candidates, you have to listen,” he said.

Gara praised Biden’s record, citing action on climate change.

“President Biden has done more addressing global warming than any president has had the guts to do, and he should get credit for that. That should be part of his legacy,” Gara said.

That record is good for Alaska, he added. “Financially, it helps Alaska because of that money coming to Alaska for renewable energy projects,” he said.

To the Alaska Republican Party, however, the Biden-Harris switch is a reason to oppose both Peltola and the vice president.

“Biden has been a disaster for the United States and for Alaska and is unfit to be President of the United States. Mary Peltola has endorsed Biden every single step of the way. Just weeks ago, Peltola called Biden ‘one of the smartest, sharpest people’ she has met in D.C. Mary Peltola is complicit, along with Kamala Harris and all other Democrat Party leaders in propping up Biden, and the American people will hold them accountable in November,” Carmela Warfield, chair of the Alaska Republican Party, said in a statement posted Sunday on Facebook.

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https://alaskabeacon.com/yereth-rosen

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