Pa. Democratic delegates unanimously back Harris for president

• By Trebor Maitin/WITF

It was not a smoke-filled room, but a Zoom meeting, where Pennsylvania’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention voted unanimously on Monday to back Vice President Kamala Harris’ quest to become the Democratic nominee for president.

The emergency vote was held 23 hours after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.

State Rep. Izzy Smith-Wade-El, a Lancaster Democrat who serves as a delegate, said the mood among delegates at the brief meeting was enthusiastic.

“I think we all support Vice President Harris,” he said. “I think when I look at it, both narratively and logistically, she’s the right fit for where we are.”

Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Sharif Street, a state senator from Philadelphia, told reporters Sunday that Harris would be an “excellent president of the United States.”

“I’ve talked to state chairs from across America and I’ve seen nothing but overwhelming support for the vice president,” Street said.

Pennsylvania’s delegates, previously pledged to Biden after he carried 93% of Democratic primary votes in April, now consider themselves pledged to Harris, narrowing the already small window for a would-be challenger to join the race. 

An unofficial Associated Press tally found Harris won the support of over 1,000 delegates from around the country as of Monday evening, more than half of the delegates necessary to secure the nomination.

Biden threw his support behind Harris minutes after he dropped out of the race Sunday afternoon. The commonwealth’s entire Democratic congressional delegation, as well as its governor and lieutenant governor, were behind Harris by end of business Monday.