IDAHO, USA — The Democratic Party is now adjusting in the wake of President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race less than a month before the Democratic National Convention.
Biden and other prominent Democrats have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the new party nominee. Several state parties have pledged their delegates to Harris, who is now the overwhelming favorite to receive the nomination.
The announcement of Biden's withdrawal has opened the door to a lot of questions on the future of the Democratic Party, including who Idaho's 27 Democratic delegates will be casting their votes for.
Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea sat down with KTVB to share her reaction and talk about what's next for the party.
KTVB's Jude Binkley: Yesterday was some historic news with Biden withdrawling from the race. First off, what was your reaction to that news?
Lauren Necochea: It was bittersweet to hear that President Biden had bowed out of the race. He's done so much in the last few years to bring our economy back from the brink and pass landmark laws like the Inflation Reduction Act and the infrastructure package. So it's bittersweet to see him go, and it opens the door for new opportunities.
Binkley: Talking about new opportunities, Idaho has 27 delegates part of the National Convention - it's in less than a month now. I know thing are probably moving right now, but are there any plans on what's going to happen with those delegates?
Necochea: So those delegates will be free to choose the nominee of their choice. What we are seeing nationwide is that delegates are strongly coming behind Vice President Kamala Harris. She's prepared, she's run the presidential campaign before alongside Biden, and so that's where the strong support is.
Binkley: Interesting decision to keep that open, what were some of the factors that led to that decision?
Necochea: It's the process, we still have to follow the process. When Biden bowed out, that meant the delegates pledged to him were free to support the the nominee of their choice.
Binkley: Do you think keeping the delegates and their choices open is the best way to represent constituents?
Necochea: I think it's important that there's a clear, transparent process and that delegates have that choice. I think what we're seeing is that Vice President Kamala Harris is just such an obvious choice. This is why we have a vice president, so we have someone who's ready to step up when the president can't serve - or in this case, when the president decides that continuing with his re-election doesn't make sense.
Binkley: Personally, what are your thoughts on a potential Kamala Harris run in November?
Necochea: I'm very supportive of Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign. Just seeing the groundswell of enthusiasm is inspiring. Her campaign just announced that they've raised $80 million in 24 hours, which is record-breaking. That's the enthusiasm we need to get our Democrats across the finish line up and down the ballot.
Binkley: Do you anticipate the Idaho Democratic Party endorsing a candidate?
Necochea: The party as a whole probably won't come together and meet as a state central committee to make an endorsement. The convention of delegates might decide that they want to endorse someone, but they have not met yet.
Binkley: We're what, 106 days away from the election now, having this monumental news come down. What do you think these next 106 days look like?
Necochea: I think Democrats are going to get united quick because the stakes are so high. When the Republican agenda includes a national abortion ban - which means Idaho patients would have nowhere to flee to get the reproductive care that they need. The Republican agenda includes cutting Social Security and Medicare and repealing the Affordable Care Act, and that means losing protections for pre-existing conditions or losing the tax credit that so many Idahoans use to pay for health insurance. The stakes just cannot be higher, and we are going to everyday be educating voters about what those steaks are and and what their choices are. We're at a fork in the road and voters need to know what's at stake so they can make their decision at the ballot box.