HELENA — The job of delegate to a political party’s national convention doesn’t always draw a lot of attention – but that changed suddenly for Montana’s Democratic delegates, when President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he was ending his campaign for reelection.
“You know, people are very interested in – it's a unique situation, and historical in a variety of ways,” said Shani Henry, a delegate from Helena.
“I did not sign up to be a part of a historic convention, but here we are,” said James Reavis, a delegate from Billings.
This week, the Democratic National Convention formalized their plan for voting on a new presidential nominee. Henry and Reavis will be among the nearly 4,000 delegates casting votes.
After the June primary, the Montana Democratic Party held county conventions, which then elected delegates to a state convention in Havre. That’s where about 25 pledged delegates to the DNC were chosen. Several party leaders also serve automatically as delegates, though there are different rules on how they can participate in votes.
All of Montana’s pledged delegates were committed to Biden – the only candidate on the state’s Democratic primary ballot, who received 91% of the vote. That changed when Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take over the nomination.
“So now we are free as individual delegates to endorse who we choose,” Henry said.
The DNC plans to hold a “virtual roll call” to officially select a presidential nominee as early as next week. National reports say Harris already appears to have support from enough delegates to win. The day after Biden’s announcement, several state delegations announced all of their members would support Harris.
The Montana Democratic Party said earlier in the week that they were waiting for more guidance from the national party about what the convention process would look like. They then confirmed that the DNC outlined rules and policies for delegates on Wednesday.
Since then, several Montana delegates have publicly announced they’re signing on to support Harris. On Thursday, MTN spoke to five delegates – all of whom said they’re backing the vice president.
“I am grateful for President Biden and for his service and his decision to step down was a personal one for him,” Reavis said. “At the same time, I am very excited about the energy that Vice President Kamala Harris has injected into the party. I can feel the enthusiasm.”
Reavis said he thinks that energy will go beyond the presidential race to local Democratic campaigns.
Lance FourStar, a delegate from Wolf Point, said he was behind Harris “300%” and also felt her candidacy had energized people locally.
“It’s great to know she’s willing and able to carry forward the legacy,” he said.
While the nomination will be decided virtually, delegates said they’re hopeful the enthusiasm they’re feeling will continue as they head to Chicago for the full convention later next month.
“I think the energy will be tremendous,” said Henry. “I know that I am honored and excited to be a delegate and see the process. I've never been there in person before, so I think it's very exciting – and it's very exciting to have this honor and this responsibility for Montana.”
One prominent Montana Democrat hasn’t endorsed Harris – or anyone else, for that matter – as presidential nominee: U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. Tester, who called on Biden to withdraw his candidacy last week, said he favored an “open nomination process” to select the next Democratic nominee.
It will take signatures from at least 300 delegates if any other candidate wants to challenge Harris for the nomination.
