California, with Democrats’ largest delegation, unanimously pledges to support Harris

The California delegation, the largest in the Democratic National Committee, unanimously voted to back Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee during a meeting Monday evening.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put forward the motion to back Harris, according to two people who took part in the online gathering.

Harris “represents a new generation of leadership and has the ability to unite our party and beat Trump in November,” state Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks said in a statement. “The California delegation quickly coalesced behind Vice President Harris for President because she’s smart, she’s tough and no one is better prepared to prosecute the case against convicted felon, Donald Trump.”

Earlier, Hicks had urged the delegation to endorse Harris.

“Now it is time for Democrats to unite around our common calling — defeating Donald Trump, retaking the House of Representatives and preserving our democracy,” Hicks said in an online message. “I am asking delegates from our great state of California and home to our Vice President, Kamala Harris, to officially endorse her nomination for President of the United States at the convention in Chicago.”

San Francisco Democrats, including Mayor London Breed, hastily organized a Monday morning rally for Harris on the steps of the Beaux-Arts City Hall.

The potential for California to flex its political muscle on the national stage follows a period of waning power for the Golden State.

For years, Californians enjoyed seats in the highest echelons of power — Pelosi (D-San Francisco) became the most powerful woman in congressional history as speaker of the House. Then her Republican successor, Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, wielded the gavel. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco became the longest-serving female senator in U.S. history and served on powerful committees.

But in quick succession over the last two years, California’s power slipped. Pelosi stepped down in 2022 to offer space for “a new generation” of Democratic leaders. McCarthy lost his speakership in a historic fallout with his own party, and then resigned from Congress. Feinstein died in September.

If Oakland-born Harris, who served as California’s senator and attorney general before she became vice president, secures the Democratic nomination, a Californian would be a major party’s presidential candidate for the first time in decades.

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Another Democrat could emerge to vie for the party’s nomination at the Chicago convention, but California’s bloc of delegates will be crucial in securing it. Already, several California political leaders have quickly called for Democrats to support Harris — including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“Tough. Fearless. Tenacious,” Newsom said in a statement on social media. “With our democracy at stake, and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President.”

Newsom was widely considered as another potential replacement for Biden, though he repeatedly swatted down rumors of harboring his own presidential aspirations. The governor served as a surrogate for the Biden campaign, crisscrossing the country to stump for him — and raise his own national profile.

But as speculation mounted in recent weeks over Biden, Newsom made it clear he would not compete with Harris. “Of course,” Newsom said recently, when asked whether he stood by comments he made last year about not running against Harris. “Yes.”

California Sens. Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler also threw their support behind Harris.

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“This is a woman who has dedicated her entire career to public service,” Butler said in an interview Sunday. “This is a woman who has never … backed down from a fight.”

Speaking at a news conference Monday morning, Padilla, who filled the Senate vacancy left by Harris when she became vice president, emphasized her qualifications as “someone who has led on issues of climate and fundamental rights.”

Pelosi, the Democratic king- and queenmaker and Harris’ Bay Area colleague, had reportedly fielded calls in the last several weeks from Democrats who were upset about Biden’s disastrous debate performance and fearful about his reelection chances. Though Pelosi has not been as close with Harris as she has been with other Bay Area politicians, on Monday, the former speaker offered her “enthusiastic support” for the vice president to become the Democratic nominee.

“Officially, I have seen Kamala Harris’s strength and courage as a champion for working families, notably fighting for a woman’s right to choose. Personally, I have known Kamala Harris for decades as rooted in strong values, faith and a commitment to public service,” Pelosi said in a statement Monday. “Politically, make no mistake: Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute — and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) said that he was confident Harris would become the nominee, but that some Democrats are debating the best way for that to happen.

“You’ve got some national Democratic leaders who are very supportive of Kamala Harris but also feel strongly there should be some sort of process,” Huffman said Sunday. By mid-Monday, he was calling Harris’ potential nomination “historic, hopeful, and exciting” on social media.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), a close confidant of Pelosi’s and a veteran California leader in Congress, immediately gave Harris his support. Schiff was the topmost congressional leader to call for Biden to drop out last week.

“She has the judgment, experience, leadership, and tenacity to take on and defeat Donald Trump,” Schiff said in a statement Sunday. “I worked with her when she was our Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President, and I can’t wait to work with her as President.”

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), who backed Harris’ presidential bid in 2020 and is on Biden’s national campaign committee, said he was “proud to support the vice president.”

“For California, especially, this is an incredible step forward and an incredible day,” he said. “I think the whole state and the party is unifying behind her and I think she’ll be the nominee within a couple of days.”

Although the California political class is lining up behind Harris, the delegates could still be a toss-up. Steve Maviglio, a Democratic political consultant who is an alternate delegate from Sacramento, said the delegates he’s spoken to are unified in their desire to defeat Trump in November. The consensus, he said, is to hope for “a seamless hand-off from the Biden campaign to the Harris campaign.”

“I don’t think there’s a lot of appetite for a mini-primary, four more weeks of turmoil,” Maviglio said. “We want to get this done, focus!”

Practically, he added, it would be impossible for another candidate to emerge and mount a proper fight against Trump in the next four months. Already, Biden’s campaign coffers are being transferred to Harris. As vice president, Harris also is already familiar with key Democratic donors, while potential rivals lack her presence on the national stage.

“It’s weird in that people will look back and say, ‘That’s historic.’ But you actually feel like you’re living history right now, and it’s a very peculiar feeling,” Maviglio said. “I just hope this doesn’t come back to bite us in our butt.”

Times staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this report.