Alaska Democratic Party quickly endorses Harris as nominee for president

Several of Alaska’s Democratic elected officials on Monday backed a decision by the Alaska Democratic Party to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee for president.

The endorsement was made Sunday, shortly after President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection.

In a prepared statement, Democratic National Convention Committeewoman Brenda Knapp said she is “all behind Vice President Harris.” The statement came after Biden endorsed Harris as his replacement.

The Alaska Democratic Party joined many national Democratic leaders who voiced support for Harris as the Democratic nominee in the wake of Biden’s announcement. Lindsay Kavanaugh, executive director of the Alaska Democratic Party, said there were discussions with Democratic National Committee members about endorsing Harris since Friday, “when there were stronger indications that Biden was rethinking whether or not he was going to consider his presidential run.”

Kavanaugh emphasized that Alaska Democrats strongly supported Biden until he dropped out, and the decision to support Harris only came after hours of “careful deliberations” on Sunday. She said there was “unification” behind Harris, and “renewed enthusiasm for the presidential race.”

[DNC delegates face unprecedented role of choosing nominee after Biden drops out]

Alaska U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, the state’s highest profile Democrat, was a notable holdout. She issued a statement Monday afternoon that did not endorse Harris, or mention the vice president at all.

Peltola said that Biden had “made a decision that a lot of politicians wouldn’t. He and his family are in my prayers.”

“I’m not sure who the Democratic candidate will be,” she said. “All I can say is Alaskans should vote their conscience this November, know your bipartisan delegation has your back, and that we’re covering all the angles no matter who is in the White House and which parties have majorities in Congress. That is because unlike other in states, we know how to work together.”

Peltola is one of five Democrats running for reelection in U.S. House districts that Trump won in 2020. In her statement, Peltola said was not “interested in criticizing either President,” referring to Trump, which she said would not be “very Yupik.”

The Democratic National Convention, in which the Democratic nominee for president and vice president will formally be selected, is scheduled to take place in Chicago next month. Former president Donald Trump was selected last week as the Republican nominee for president with support from the Alaska Republican Party and many prominent GOP Alaskans.

Biden’s decision to drop out makes Trump, 78, the oldest nominee for president from a major party in the nation’s history. Harris is 59.

Alaska Democratic Party Chair Mike Wenstrup said in the prepared statement that a vote for Harris is a vote “for a country where all Americans can live without fear of persecution.”

Wenstrup called Biden “the best president we’ve had during my lifetime,” noting the infrastructure investments made in Alaska through bipartisan legislation passed under the Biden-Harris administration.

In April, Alaska Democrats held a voice vote to nominate Biden as the party’s candidate for president, instead of holding a traditional primary or caucus. All of the Alaska Democratic Party’s delegates were pledged for Biden, meaning they would be compelled to vote for him in “good conscience” at next month’s convention. Biden dropping out on Sunday released the delegates and allowed them to vote for whomever they chose.

[Harris looks to lock up Democratic nomination]

Party delegates and Kavanaugh denied on Monday that the speed of the Harris endorsement after Biden dropped out had denied rank-and-file Democrats from participating in choosing a nominee for president. Kavanaugh said the vast majority of feedback to party officials has been in strong support of Harris.

“I’ve maybe had two emails from people calling for an open convention. I haven’t verified they reside in the state of Alaska,” she said on Monday afternoon.

Twenty voting Alaska Democrats are set to attend the Chicago convention next month. Delegates met online Sunday evening and endorsed Harris as the party’s nominee. Kavanaugh said 18 delegates and one alternate attended the Sunday meeting — 14 of 15 pledged delegates voted to endorse Harris, she added. She would not disclose which delegate voted not to endorse Harris or why.

Anchorage Democratic Rep. Andy Josephson, a delegate, said there “was very, very, very brief discussion” about other presidential candidates, but he said Alaska Democrats were united behind Harris.

“This is a very exciting time for the party,” he said.

The Harris endorsement is not binding on Alaska delegates attending the Democratic convention, Kavanaugh said. She declined to answer whether there were any expectations Alaska delegates would vote for Harris as the party’s nominee.

“I think that’s a better question for the delegates,” she said. “I don’t want to answer on behalf of that body.”

Josephson said there had been “some belief” the delegation should not make an immediate endorsement and instead wait a few days, but that support had already coalesced behind Harris. Pat Chesbro, another delegate, also said Harris’ name was the only one seriously discussed.

“Ultimately, just looking at social media and seeing the numbers of endorsements piling up, it seems that if we delayed, that Alaska would yet again be sort of late to the party and not really have a voice,” said Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat serving as delegate.

Gray said that conversation on an alternative to Biden began among Alaska delegates after the June 27 debate between Biden and Trump, in which Biden’s sometimes-incoherent responses raised concerns about his ability to run for reelection.

“Although there is a narrative out there that this was a rushed decision, I think these conversations have been going on for three weeks and there’s been a lot of thought behind who the nominee should be if it weren’t Biden,” said Gray, adding that “it is important that it not seem like a coronation.”

Josephson said Harris’ nomination could drum up excitement among young voters and voters of color. Anchorage Democrat Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, a delegate, said “it was easy” for her to support Harris, who like her is a Black woman who has often been the first woman of color to be elected to a particular office.

“I was the first minority to serve as chair of the Anchorage Assembly. It’s a wonderful feeling to get that far in our political journey,” said Gray-Jackson

Josephson said the change in the Democratic ticket could also have downstream effects in Alaska’s elections, in which 50 of the state’s 60 lawmakers are up for reelection. An increase in turnout among young voters could help left-leaning candidates like himself, Josephson said.

In a one-sentence statement on social media posted Sunday, Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she “respect(s) President Biden’s decision to act in the best interest of the country by stepping aside in the 2024 presidential election.”

Murkowski, one of former President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics within the Republican Party, had repeatedly said earlier this year that she supported neither of the major presidential candidates. As of Monday, she had not commented publicly on the choice of Harris to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican who has endorsed Trump and repeatedly criticized Biden, said in a prepared statement that regardless who was at the top of the ticket, Democrats would still be running on “the failed Biden-Harris agenda.”

“Alaskans and the rest of America will continue to suffer from their far-left policies that caused crushing inflation, high energy prices, weak national security, open borders with fentanyl flooding into Alaska, and Biden’s unprecedented war on Alaska — with 68 executive orders and actions specifically targeting our state and our working families,” he said in a statement shared with the Daily News.

Alaska Republican Party Chair Carmela Warfield said in a statement that “it does not matter who the Democratic presidential nominee is.” She said the nominee, regardless of their identity, would continue to advance the policies favored by the Biden-Harris administration.

This is a developing story and will be updated.