On Friday, DNC delegates voted to make Vice President Kamala Harris the official Democratic Nominee for President.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hey everyone, I'm Ryan Thompson. I'm the Chief Mobilization Officer at the Harris Campaign.
00:05And I'm Nadia Anisha Belkin. I'm the National AANHPI Engagement Director on the Harris Campaign.
00:10We are coming to you live from our studio at Harris HQ here in Wilmington, Delaware. Thank
00:17you all for joining us today. This has been another exciting week for the Harris Campaign.
00:23As many of you saw on Tuesday evening in Georgia, we held our biggest rally to date.
00:30And just yesterday, the virtual voting for delegates officially began. As you may or may
00:35not know, the Vice President needs to exceed 50% of the votes to become the Democratic nominee
00:42for President. And folks, we are literally in the middle of the process to nominate Vice
00:48President Harris. And we thought we'd give you all a behind-the-scenes look at the voting process
00:54from around the country and highlight the tremendous effort by everyone who has put
01:00into casting their ballots and rallying support behind her.
01:03Yes, and we will be tracking the votes in real time. So in just a few minutes,
01:09we're going to be joined live by Director of Delegate Operations, Eli So, who is here at HQ
01:15tracking the ballots as they come in. He's going to give us an up-to-date look on the progress
01:22towards 2,350 votes, which is the threshold that Vice President Harris needs in order to secure
01:29the nomination. We're also going to be checking in with one of our local labor delegates, Robert
01:34Corona of IBEW Local 11, as well as the Nevada State Party Chair, Danielle Monroe Moreno.
01:42Before we get to all of that, we want to remind everyone to continue to stay engaged
01:48and active in this campaign. As always, please visit KamalaHarris.com
01:53slash organize to join up to volunteer and find an event near you.
01:58Please make sure to sign up. Now let's check in with Eli and the Harris for President
02:03Delegate Operations team to give us an update on where the voting stands. Hey, Eli.
02:09Thanks, Ryan. And hi, everyone. We are all, as you can see, hard at work making calls to delegates
02:15here. And over the past two weeks, we've been in touch with our delegates across the country,
02:19and we're working to get out their votes in order to nominate the Vice President.
02:23So our goal is to turn out the vote for all of the delegates ahead of our deadline on Monday,
02:28August 5th. But in doing so, we are continuing to build excitement for Chicago. And this is
02:34such an important part of the Vice President securing the nomination. Let's go back to Ryan
02:39and Nadia in the studio. Thanks, Eli. That was really cool to see. We'll continue to check in
02:46with you throughout this call to see where the votes stand. And for everyone watching,
02:50we wanted to show you all this ballot tracker. As you can see, the votes are now at 2,302,
02:58and the Vice President needs 2,350 votes to secure the nomination.
03:05Wow, we are getting close. Now we're going to hear from one of those delegates who is
03:10casting their vote. Please welcome to the show IBEW Local 11 Business Manager from California,
03:18Robert Corona. Over to you. Hi, everybody. Robert Corona from IBEW Local 11 here in Los Angeles.
03:25As a California delegate for Kamala Harris, a son of a Bracero, a veteran, and a union member
03:33for over 32 years, I'm proud to cast my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris from her hometown
03:39state of California. Vice President Harris has been a strong advocate for worker organizing and
03:44training, creating pathways to good union jobs. Major unions across various sectors quickly came
03:50out to endorse Vice President Harris. Educators, construction workers, healthcare professionals,
03:56farm workers, postal workers, service and public employees, as well as workers in communications,
04:03hospitality, nursing, transportation, utilities, and manufacturing. All are joining the growing
04:10list of supporters because she has a strong record of standing with working people.
04:15In this virtual roll call, countless labor leaders and union presidents have shown their support and
04:21voted for Vice President Harris. She has a proven track record of standing with workers. Now it's
04:27our turn to stand with her. Personally, I'm voting for Vice President Harris because of her unwavering
04:33commitment to labor rights and her personal dedication to supporting union workers and to
04:39make sure that this Inflation Reduction Act gets followed through with. And on a real personal note,
04:46I'm a father of four, three of which are strong, three strong young ladies, and we got to make sure
04:52that we get those rights back for the women that have been taken away and make sure that nothing
04:56else is taken away from the ladies. As the Vice President in the most pro-labor administration
05:02ever, I'm excited to continue this work with her and finish the job. Back to you.
05:07Thank you, Robert, for joining us and sharing your story of support for Vice President Harris.
05:13All right, I think it's time we check back in with Eli. Over to you.
05:18Thanks so much, Nadia. Well, since we last spoke, 22 delegates have cast their ballots,
05:25and we're continuing, of course, to make calls so that we can hit our numbers and ensure that the
05:29Vice President has all of the necessary ballots to meet that threshold and be the nominee,
05:35as you could hear just going off there. We also want to make sure that every delegate has a chance
05:39to vote before that deadline on August 5th, but that's where the ballots stand as of now,
05:44so I will go back to the studio with Ryan and Nadia.
05:49Thanks, Eli. All right, folks, as we mentioned, we are now going to head to Nevada to hear from
05:55State Party Chair Danielle Monroe Moreno, who is with the Nevada Democrats right now,
06:01look at the room. Welcome, Danielle.
06:11Chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party, my team and I just finished a tour of all 17 counties
06:19here in our beautiful, great state of Nevada, and we met with Democrats
06:24in communities at every corner throughout our state. No matter where we were at in our state,
06:31Nevada Democrats have one thing in common. They are fired up to elect Kamala Harris as our next
06:39president of the United States and are rolling up their sleeves to get the work done on her behalf.
06:46We know that the road to the White House runs through Nevada, so we are talking to our friends,
06:53our families, and neighbors about the importance of electing Kamala Harris this November,
06:59why another four years of Donald Trump would be disastrous for Nevada's hard-working families.
07:07We just won't let that happen. That's why I am honored to cast my ballot for Kamala Harris
07:14today to make her our party's official nominee for president.
07:24Thank you so much, Chairman Romareno.
07:29The passion and fire, you can just feel it coming all the way from the field in Nevada here today.
07:35Thank you so much, Chairman Romareno, for joining us on the call today,
07:39and thank you again to Robert Corona from IBEW in California.
07:44We know there's a lot at stake in this election, and it is wonderful to have so many community
07:48members and delegates talking about the reason why they are casting their vote for Kamala Harris
07:54today. What do you think? Should we check back in with Eli before we wrap things up here?
07:59Should we? Should we? Oh, you know what? I'm getting a notice. Before we do that,
08:04we have to connect with a special guest. Folks, I am very pleased to present to you someone who
08:11is very critical to our party's infrastructure and party leadership. Please welcome to the show
08:17the Chair of Democratic National Committee, Jamie Harrison.
08:25Hey, Chair.
08:47A little bit of trouble with Mr. Harrison's audio, but we're going back to him in a second.
09:04Folks, while we have you, we had to make a plug for ways that you can get involved right now.
09:09You know the best way to do that? Kamalaharris.com slash organize.
09:14And you might say, well, what happens when you sign up at that link?
09:17Yeah.
09:18Don't worry. We've got a space for you. We are phone banking. We are knocking on doors. We are
09:22sending out text messages. We are trying to connect the people with the policies, because we know
09:27Vice President Harris is going to lead us to victory on November 5th, and you definitely need
09:33to be part of those conversations. What do you think?
09:36And Nadia, I think it's important to remind folks that they're not in this campaign alone.
09:41Did y'all know that more than 3,600,000 volunteers have signed up since President
09:46Biden endorsed Vice President Harris and she launched this historic campaign?
09:51So you won't be alone when you go to Kamalaharris.com slash organize.
09:55I got to say, I'm on this campaign and I am shocked at the updates every single hour at
10:00the new number of volunteers that are coming in, the number of volunteer shifts that are
10:05being locked in. This is a phenomenal and electric moment. It is historic.
10:10And Nadia, I wanted to check in with you. How are things looking over there?
10:18Well, they're looking great. Thanks so much, Ryan. And this process started at just 9 a.m.
10:26this morning, and we're already so far into the process. So you can hear the dings going off.
10:30We're continuing to collect those ballots in order to nominate Vice President Harris.
10:36It's going really well.
10:38I'm going to do the hope story. I'll start off with the hope story and then go into this.
10:46Thanks, Eli. That's awesome to see. Nadia, I wanted to make a quick plug for something.
10:52Between Eli, you, me, we're wearing a lot of campaign merch, so we wanted folks to
10:57not know they were alone. So folks, I recommend you head out to store.kamalaharris.com.
11:03Get a t-shirt. Join us in our campaign.
11:08I love it. I think these pins really pop. And this shirt, blue is a good color for us.
11:14That's right. That's right. Nadia, when you're on the ground, when you're working in community,
11:20you work with all of our national Asian American leaders across the country. What are some of your
11:25favorite ways to engage them? What ways should folks watching get involved just like they are?
11:31Well, I'm going to go back to that sign up to volunteer link. You know, there is real power in
11:37being able to talk about your story and your experience with the policies that the Biden
11:42Harris administration have been able to move forward over these past three and a half years.
11:46The power of storytelling, the power of having a conversation with your friend, your neighbor,
11:50it is what builds a sense of community. And that is how this campaign really moves itself forward.
11:55So again, we are on phones. We are on text. We are writing postcards. We are doing rallies
12:00in community. If you're looking for a touch point on this campaign, we have it for you.
12:05And that volunteer link is going to be so key. The other thing I'll say here is I feel like a
12:10lot of people are seeing themselves in this campaign. So if you have not had a chance to
12:15see the launch ad or any of the other ads that this campaign has dropped, take a look at it,
12:20share it with friends, share it with family and watch it multiple times, because I can guarantee
12:24that you will see yourself amongst those images. I love that. Make sure to check out
12:28commonlyharris.com organize. We really want y'all to join our campaign. Look at the number
12:34of actions that we have today that you can do virtually this weekend across the country and
12:40in all battleground states. That is how we will win by organizing our communities, talking to
12:45the folks that we know and making sure we can send Vice President Harris to the presidency.
12:50This is wild. Oh, I'm just getting a ping. We are now joined by the chair of the Democratic
12:57National Committee, Jamie Harrison. Chair King of Harris, how are you doing?
13:01I can hear you, Ryan. I'm doing well and it's so good to see both of you there today. Listen,
13:09I want to tell a story at the start. I am so proud to be the chair of this party.
13:15I want to tell a story at the start. I am so proud to be the chair of this party.
13:20The Democratic Party has represented for me that it is the party of hope. To start off,
13:26I'm going to tell you a little story about what gives me hope. Many of you know that I was a
13:32staffer for the legendary Congressman Jim Clyburn. I worked on Capitol Hill. My job was to count the
13:40votes in order to pass legislation. I was the floor director in the Majority Whip's office.
13:45There was one night in which I was working late in the office. It was so late at night
13:51that a member of the custodial staff started coming by and vacuuming and wiping things down.
13:56I noticed her, but I went on doing my work. Finally, I had that feeling. You know that feeling
14:02you have when somebody is looking at you. I had that feeling. I looked up and there she was in
14:08the doorway. I motioned to her, and I said, ma'am, do you need to come in? I said, you're my boss.
14:14I'll come out into the hallway and I'll do my work. She said, no, son, you sit right there.
14:18She said, you know, I come and clean your office every night. You have a nice office. I said,
14:23thank you, ma'am. I appreciate it. I appreciate all that you do. She said, now, are you from
14:28South Carolina? I said, yes, ma'am, I am. She said, are you from Orangeburg? I said, yes,
14:34I am from Orangeburg. She walked over to my wall and she saw some pictures and she said,
14:41are these pictures of your family? I said, yes, they are. She held one picture up and she pointed
14:47to a person on it. She said, is that your mom? I said, yes, that's my mom. Is your mom's name
14:52Patricia, Patricia Harrison? I said, yes, my mom is Patricia Harrison. She stopped right in the
14:58middle of the room and she started shaking and she said, oh my God, I know your mom.
15:04I went to high school with your mom. I remember when your mom became pregnant and had to stop
15:10school in order to have you. And she came over and she hugged me and she said, I would have never
15:16thought that Patricia Harrison's son would be right here. You give me hope. My friends, that's
15:25what this party is all about. It's about giving people hope. It doesn't matter what background you
15:31are, what race you are, what religion, who you pray to, who you love, how you identify yourselves.
15:37Every person in this country deserves and should have the opportunity to live the American dream.
15:44That's what Joe Biden represents. That's what Kamala Harris represents. That is what the
15:50Democratic Party fights for every single day. So as chair of this great party, as chair of this
15:57party that is built on hope, I am so proud to confirm that Vice President Harris has earned
16:05more than a majority of votes from all convention delegates and will be the nominee of the Democratic
16:11Party following the close of voting on Monday. The outpouring of support we have witnessed for
16:17the Vice President has been unprecedented. We knew your ballots would come back quickly,
16:23but the fact that we can say today, just one day after we opened voting, that the Vice President
16:29has crossed the majority threshold and will officially be our nominee next week, folks,
16:34that is simply outstanding. You returned your nomination petitions at lightning speed.
16:41You made your voices heard, and what you said was clear. We are not going back.
16:49We have to send Kamala Harris to the White House. You demonstrated your dedication and your
16:55commitment to this process. We were already impressed, but you all somehow have managed
17:01to outdo yourselves. Folks, I'm sure you can see the commotion around me. I'm thrilled to
17:08be speaking to you from the United Center, where in just 17 days, the Vice President will make her
17:15acceptance speech. The stage is quite literally being set and being built right now. Everyone
17:21here is hard at work putting together what will certainly be a historic and momentous convention.
17:29We are going to celebrate. We're going to celebrate the Biden-Harris administration's
17:34success, Vice President Harris's vision, and our party's agenda to defend democracy and protect the
17:41rights and freedoms of all Americans. I'm proud to be a Democrat every day. We fight for every
17:49American. We stand up for our rights and freedoms. We are an important part of defending our nation's
17:57democracy. But today, my friends, is special because we can proudly say we will have the first
18:04woman of color at the top of a major party ticket. I'm proud to be a Democrat, and I am honored to be
18:13chair of this great party. To my friends who have not submitted their ballots yet,
18:20it's not too late to join the party and get in on this fun. Folks, you don't want to miss out.
18:27So to ensure that we head to our convention in Chicago with a show of force, a show of unity,
18:35it's critical that every delegate, every single one of you, every delegate returns their ballot.
18:41It's what you were sent to the convention to do. Your vote is important. It will go towards your
18:47state's roll call at the in-person convention, and it will show the strength and unity of this party.
18:54So folks, don't let your fellow Democrats down, and be sure to get your ballot in before Monday
19:00at 6 p.m. Eastern time. Together, we will rally around Vice President Kamala Harris
19:08and demonstrate the strength of our party as the nation tunes in to Chicago and all of us
19:13here at the United Senate. And I can assure, on August 19th, this will no longer be a construction
19:21zone, my friends. But listen, I think I am, am I getting a call?
19:31Jamie? I'm getting a call right now. Yes.
19:33It sounds like it's the future president of the United States, Kamala Harris.
19:39Hello, Vice President. Hi, Jamie, and everyone, everyone. Hello,
19:45hello, hello. Jamie, just in front of all the friends, I want to thank you for all that you
19:50have been doing. Your leadership at the Democratic National Committee, the DNC,
19:55has been extraordinary, and I know how hard you work. So, Jamie, thank you for everything that
20:00you are doing, and to everyone on the call, thank you for your hard work and all you have been doing
20:07over these last many, many, many months. And I know that we are excited about the future,
20:14but we also know that we got a lot of work to get there, and we have a lot of work to do. It's
20:18good work. We like hard work, and I just want to thank everyone for joining this call.
20:24Listen, I think we all approach our campaign with the same spirit, including that this is
20:30truly a people-powered campaign, and I would not be on this call right now and with you all were
20:37it not for your support and your trust, for which I am deeply grateful. I am honored to be the
20:44presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States, and I will tell you the
20:49tireless work of our delegates, our state leaders, and staff has been pivotal in making this moment
20:57possible, and your dedication cannot be overstated, your dedication to our country.
21:03You know, I know we all feel this way so strongly. We love our country. We believe in the promise of
21:09America, and that's what this campaign is about. So, of course, I will officially accept your
21:16nomination next week once the virtual voting period is closed, but already I'm happy to know
21:23that we have enough delegates to secure the nomination. And later this month, we will gather
21:29in Chicago, united as one party, where we're going to have an opportunity to celebrate this historic
21:36moment together. And again, this campaign is about all of us coming together, people coming together
21:42from every walk of life, every lived experience, and being fueled by our love of country, knowing
21:49that we are prepared to fight for the best of who we are. We believe in the promise of America,
21:55promise of freedom, opportunity, and justice, not just for some, but for all, and ultimately in this
22:01election, you all have heard me say many times, we each face the question, what kind of country do we
22:08want to live in? Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law, or a country
22:16of chaos, fear, and hate? And the beauty of our democracy is we each, every one of us, has the
22:24power to answer that question. And that is why I say, and know the power is with the people.
22:31So here's the bottom line, I say to all the friends on the call, we are going to win this election,
22:39and it is going to take all of us, whether it is making calls, connecting with our communities,
22:44engaging online, or even talking with people where we go every day, whether it be to the grocery
22:51store, our church, we are going to talk with people about the fact that we are all in this
22:56together, and we stand together. And so let's let folks know that our campaign is about the future,
23:03and it's about an expansion of rights and freedoms, and for the opportunity of everyone
23:08to not just get by, but to get ahead. So November 5, November 5th, is 95 days away,
23:16and North Carolina, for everyone there, you're kicking us off with absentee ballots that are
23:22being sent in just 35 days. So we are, we are in this, everyone, we are in this, we are on the road.
23:31And you know, it's not going to be easy, but we're going to, we're going to get this done. And
23:38as your future president, I know we are up to this fight. And when we fight, everyone will say in
23:45unison, we win. So thank you, everyone. Please take care, and I can't wait to see you in Chicago.
23:52And thank you again, Jamie. Thank you so much, Madam Vice President and Chair Harrison,
24:00for joining this group of supporters on this historic, powerful, emotional moment.
24:05And congrats again, Madam Vice President. Wow, I'm, I'm beaming, that was historic.
24:12I hope everyone on this call is as excited as we are. Folks, as you know, this election will be
24:19very close and will be decided by a small number of votes in just a few states. We need every one
24:26of you to do what you can to support Vice President Harris. There are so many ways that you
24:33can get involved in this campaign. And I promise that there is a place for you here. So please
24:40visit KamalaHarris.com slash organize to sign up to volunteer and find an event near you.
24:47We cannot win without you. And as Nadia mentioned, there are countless ways you can show your
24:55support. We are we are really excited to let y'all know we just released 5000 limited edition posters.
25:03You can see it behind me that you all can get for free at KamalaHarris.com slash history. That
25:11is KamalaHarris.com slash history and they're free. Oh, and I have to tell you, while you're
25:16there, you if you want to pick up some of this awesome merch that we've been wearing, we have
25:22something special for you there to use the discount code Kamala for 20% off your purchase.
25:28All right, one last mention KamalaHarris.com slash history. We want to close this amazing,
25:35historic, emotional, powerful event by thanking all of our incredible delegates and to team Eli
25:42and the delegate operations team for for their work. And thank you to everyone, even if you're
25:47not a delegate for your support and for joining this call on this historic day. The Democratic
25:54National Convention in Chicago, where we will unite at the United Center is right around the
25:58corner. So let's keep the momentum going. Thanks so much, everybody.