The Virginia delegation to the Democratic National Convention said Tuesday they will vote to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris for president, after the group conducted a virtual vote on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
“Our delegation knows that Vice President Harris is the right choice and leader not only to unify our party, but our country,” Susan Swecker, the Democratic Party of Virginia's chairwoman, said in a statement. “The Virginia Democratic Delegation is thrilled to cast our votes for her historic nomination and support an incredible former senator and prosecutor in defeating convict Donald Trump this November.”
As of Tuesday morning, 117 delegates had cast nonbinding ballots supporting Harris. Two people had not voted.
The delegates are not formally pledged to Harris, but the announcement indicates they will support her in a virtual roll-call vote that is expected before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in a few weeks.
Virginia joins at least 31 other state delegations that have backed Harris, who would challenge former President Donald Trump for the presidency. No other major candidate has emerged to contest the Democratic nomination, and Harris has already secured the delegate votes she needs to win it, according to the Associated Press.
The two candidates' presidential visions differ greatly. On the campaign trail, Trump has pitched a plan to conduct mass deportations of undocumented people and blamed President Joe Biden's administration for inflation. Harris, meanwhile, has emphasized protecting abortion rights, her background as a prosecutor and her record as part of the Biden administration.
The Virginia delegation’s announcement came after a dramatic 48 hours of news on the Democratic side of the presidential race. Biden announced Sunday he would end his reelection bid, after weeks of party and media figures questioning whether Biden’s health endangered his reelection bid. Shortly afterward, he endorsed Harris.
Since then, a steady stream of elected Democrats in the commonwealth have stated their support for the vice president, including the Virginia Black Legislative Caucus, Virginia House and Senate Democrats, the Virginia Latino Caucus, the Virginia Young Democrats, and the party’s sitting congressional delegation.
While many of those groups include delegates, those with the power to officially nominate the Democratic presidential nominee will be the state delegates to the party’s convention. The DNC has assigned Virginia 99 “pledged” delegates.
Up until Sunday, their votes had been officially pledged to Biden, who received 317,329 votes in Virginia’s March 5 primary, according to the Department of Elections.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D–Fairfax), state Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D–Petersburg) and House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D–Alexandria) — Harris’s Virginia campaign co-chairs when she unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020 — sent a letter on Monday to voting delegates making the case for Harris as the party’s nominee , Surovell said. He estimated the group lobbied upward of 90% of the Virginia delegates ahead of the Monday night meeting.
“I think everybody was just really excited to hop on board and be part of history,” Surovell said.
DPVA had also been reaching out to delegates to consolidate support for Harris, said Alan Kennedy, a delegate. Harris needs the support of 1,976 delegates to clinch the nomination.
Virginia is sending 119 delegates to Chicago, not all of whom are able to vote on the first ballot, according to a DPVA spokesperson. DNC members are not able to vote for nominees, and “automatic” delegates (more commonly known as “superdelegates”) are not able to cast a decisive vote on the convention’s first ballot.
Harris' elevation from the Vice Presidential Nominee to the top of the ticket would leave her spot open. Delegates will also vote on that nominee.
In interviews with more than a dozen delegates, none said they had been contacted by those advocating for potential vice presidential nominees.
“I believe Vice President Harris and her team will pick the right person not only on policy but someone who will help with the electoral map to get to 270 [electoral votes], “ said Del. Alex Askew (D–Virginia Beach) Monday afternoon. Askew said no one had contacted him to advocate for a vice presidential nominee.
Other delegates said they expected the nominee to come from a battleground state.
On a press call on Monday, Sen. Tim Kaine — Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential pick in 2016 — said there’s some uncertainty about when Harris might choose a running mate, a process that usually takes months. But he said he anticipated that the selection could create further excitement among Democrats.
“She’ll make a powerful pick for somebody to be VP, and I think that pick will create some additional energy,” Kaine said.
In interviews Sunday in Richmond, voters said they thought Biden made the right choice to exit the race.
“I think it gives us a better chance. I think otherwise it was a loss,” said Milvia Herrera-Brooks, a graphic designer. “I was going to vote Democratic regardless, but it makes me more excited because it's four years of something new.”
Alsúin Creighton-Preis, a party delegate and chair of the Henrico County Democrats, said she was receiving calls from local Democrats wanting to volunteer since Biden’s announcement.
“I feel nothing but energy,” she said. “People have been coming out of the woodwork. My phone is blowing up. I didn't experience this last time around.”
Polls had shown Biden with mixed results in Virginia. Some had him trailing Trump, others had him ahead, but generally indicated a closer margin than the 2020 election, when Biden won the commonwealth by 10 percentage points. Kaine said he had been in touch with leaders on the Biden campaign to share polls that he believed showed the president’s standing slipping in the state.
Several voting delegates reached on Monday said they were energized by the Harris campaign's early momentum — and believe she will stoke enthusiasm among younger voters and voters of color, who had shown signs of disinterest in the Biden-led ticket.
“Moving forward and being able to imagine what can be unburdened by what has been is a really exciting moment for especially so many young people,” said Arlington County Board member Maureen Coffey, quoting Harris remarks that have gone viral as a meme. “I mean, I'm sure everyone is following the memes and the videos, and I just haven't seen energy like this in a very, very long time, if ever.”
Deshundra Jefferson, the chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors who is also a delegate, said she believes Harris’s historic candidacy will “energize low propensity or low turnout voters.”
“I remember Obama… I didn't think I'd see a Black president until I was a grandparent,” she said. “And now, to be able to see a Black woman — please understand that this also shows other people what's possible.”
But Jefferson, whose county straddles VA–7 and VA–10, two key open congressional districts, said she won’t be taking anything for granted in either race.
“No matter who's at the top of the ticket, I'm going to be out there,” she said. “I plan to buy new walking shoes to make sure I’m out there canvassing.”
