Colorado Democrats are uniting behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, with the state party officially endorsing her candidacy nearly unanimously on Tuesday.
For prominent members of the state’s South Asian and Black communities, her nomination carries added significance.
“I think it's a point of pride for sure, but she is a well-deserving candidate and the South Asian community is 100 percent behind her,” said Indira Duggirala, the vice-chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. “I was very thrilled to see several South Asian family and friends coming forward and telling me, ‘What can we do to help?’ And so that speaks for itself.”
Duggirala, who is Indian American, also co-chairs the party’s South Asian Democrats for Colorado initiative. She told CPR News it’s a huge boost to have a candidate who has already been vetted, “she is very familiar to all our communities.”
Neal Walia, chair of Colorado South Asian Democrats and a member of Denver’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission, said Harris’ candidacy is not only historic, but he thinks her commitment to justice and equality resonates deeply with the values and aspirations of his community.
“Not only would she be the first woman to hold the highest office, but she would also be the first Black woman and the first South Asian American to lead our country. Her nomination reflects the rich diversity and strength of America, and it sends a powerful message to AAPI communities everywhere, especially to our youth, about the limitless possibilities in our great nation,” Walia said in a written statement to CPR News.
Harris was born in Oakland, Calif. to immigrants from Jamaica and India.
Other Democrats like State Rep. Jennifer Bacon of Denver were fully behind Biden, and are now backing Harris
“It was always going to be team Democrat,” said Bacon, who represents a very Democratic district and is the House Assistant Majority Leader and chairs Colorado’s Black Democratic Legislative Caucus. She said for her personally, there is another important aspect to Harris' candidacy: the potential of a Black woman being president.
Bacon added that the stakes of this race are high.
“I'm excited at the prospects of protecting the things that we fought for in this country that do mean liberty and justice for all,” she said. “And I'm doubly excited that we have an opportunity to demonstrate that if we elect a Black woman president, that means we are truly committed to that as a nation.”
The sentiment is similar nationally. Harris is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, one of the “Divine Nine” Black sororities and fraternities prominent on campuses across the country. They have been busy organizing voter registration and turnout drives, while individual members have started fundraising for the Harris campaign. Harris spoke on Wednesday at the national convention of one of the groups, Zeta Phi Beta.
Democratic activist Deep Badhesha said he hasn’t seen younger voters on the left so excited about a candidate since Bernie Sanders in 2016.
“I think people like to make history, people like to vote for something unique and Joe Biden and Trump just felt like the same old, same old,” said Badhesha, a self-described millennial. “But Kamala Harris I think offers something very different.”
Badhesha, the son of Indian immigrants, said people are already calling her “Auntie Kamala,” a term that’s used in some Asian and Black communities, among others, as a way to show respect. He thinks policy considerations will be another factor in her appeal to those voters like himself, who are critical of Biden’s policy in Gaza, and were considering or planning to sit out the presidential race.
“For the longest time, Palestinian activists and folks on that side of the issue actually said Kamala Harris was much better on that issue. So she doesn't have to say anything overt either way, but she's just going to seem so much better for those folks,” he explained.
But he was already all in. Badhesha hopes to organize phone banks for Harris in swing states like Georgia with large South Asian populations.
Not everyone, however, wanted the switch to happen.
Democratic Rep. Naquetta Ricks of Aurora said she was in the camp of “let’s stick with Biden” given that there’s only a few months left until the general election. But now that he’s dropped his reelection bid she said she’s glad the party is uniting around Harris.
“If it was an open convention, it would look like we were still undecided, which doesn't bode very well for Democrats,” said Ricks.
Ricks, an immigrant from Liberia, is on the Colorado Democratic party’s platform committee. She will attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and said she was also in Philadelphia when Hillary Clinton was nominated for President.
“In 2016 I got to see the first woman accept the nomination and I was very disappointed when she did not win.”
Ricks said it’ll take a lot of work for Harris to win, but, “I think if anybody can do it, she can.”
“We have to fight in order to win this. It's not a cakewalk.”
Democratic Rep. Junie Joseph of Boulder is a delegate to the DNC and an immigrant from Haiti. She said she sees the election as bigger than any one person and was already prepared to call her friends, send postcards and knock on doors for Biden.
“Now I will be doing that for Vice President Kamala Harris or future President Kamala Harris. So at the end of the day, nothing has changed for me. We have a lot of work to do.”
Joseph said she’s optimistic because she feels Harris is more than qualified for the job and it comes full circle to have a Black woman at the top of the ticket.
“If you think about it, Obama ran in 2008. He was not the vice president of the United States, and we elected him overwhelmingly. And here's a woman who's highly qualified, with all the experience and expertise, who has the lived experience of being in the White House, being part of the conversations.”
Joseph also said Harris offers a clear contrast to Trump.
“Do you want to be represented by someone who is divisive, someone who doesn't respect people, someone who called people all kinds of names, who doesn't respect women and who is not concerned with bringing people along? You've seen how President Trump has behaved on the world stage. Is that who we want to represent us?”
Already Colorado Black women are organizing for Harris. Democratic Sen. Janet Buckner of Aurora was on a call earlier this week with Black women from across the country that raised more than $1 million for Harris. She said it was very inspiring.
“I was 'ridin' with Biden' and President Biden has served our country fearlessly,” said Buckner in a text message. “Now I am endorsing and supporting VP Kamala Harris and I have confidence in her abilities to fairly represent all of us and especially highlight women's issues.”
Democratic Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver is another Colorado DNC delegate and was also on that call.
“The excitement is pretty electric out there, and it has not died down since her announcement,” said Herod.
Herod said prior to Harris’ campaign there wasn’t a lot of energy around this election cycle and people didn’t want to decide between Trump and Biden. She also said that people didn’t see themselves reflected in the race, unfortunate because President Biden has been one of the most consequential presidents in the nation's history, in her view.
“They wanted something honestly less white male. They wanted a real contrast to the dangerous campaign of Donald Trump. That's what we have now,” Herod said. “The energy comes because it's all over Twitter, it's all over TikTok, it's all over social media. She's really engaging the young folks.”
CPR’s Elaine Tassy contributed to this report.
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