Former Democratic Speaker, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, claims Kamala Harris “won” the open primary despite the lack of a contest.
On Wednesday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating process after President Joe Biden stepped down, insisting that it was “open” and that Vice President Kamala Harris “won” it, even though there was no formal contest.
Before Biden withdrew as the Democratic nominee in mid-July, Pelosi reportedly supported a competitive primary process to choose his replacement, if necessary.
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When asked by Semafor’s Kadia Goba whether she had changed her view after witnessing the “excitement” Harris generated, Pelosi responded, “No, I didn’t change my mind. We had an open primary and she won it. Nobody else got in the race.”
Pelosi elaborated, “Yes, people could have jumped in – there were some who were sort of preparing, but she just took off with it, and actually it was a blessing because there was not that much time between then and the election, and it sort of saved time. But it wasn’t that we didn’t have an open primary. It’s just that nobody got in because she had a running start.”
Biden dropped out of the presidential race on July 21, endorsing Harris as his successor. From that point, Harris was considered the de facto nominee until the Democratic National Committee (DNC) held an unprecedented virtual roll call vote in August, according to Fox News.
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Harris secured 99% of the participating delegates’ support. Although three challengers expressed interest in running against her, none were able to collect the required 300 delegate signatures to qualify for the virtual ballot, according to Politico.
Conservative groups criticized Pelosi’s remarks, calling the claim of an “open primary” a farce. Ryan Walker, executive director of Heritage Action For America, said, “The votes of 14 million Americans who voted for Joe Biden were thrown away as Harris was installed as the Democrats’ nominee for president – a job for which she has never received a single vote. Saying she won an open primary is a joke.”
Jenny Beth Martin, president of Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, added, “Listening to Nancy Pelosi’s comments about Joe Biden, you could almost forget that she was one of many who lied to us about his condition right up until the moment it was no longer to her political advantage to do so.”
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While some critics questioned the fairness of the process, election law experts argued that no legal violations occurred. “It’s not a coup, as some would say,” noted Jeremy Mayer, a professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Public Policy and Government, to Fox News.
Pelosi’s defense of Harris’ rise to the Democratic nomination continues to spark debate, with many questioning the party’s decision-making process.
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