Pelosi Voiced Support for an Open Nomination Process if Biden Drops Out

Some California House Democrats don’t want the process to replace the president on the ticket to seem like a Kamala Harris coronation.

By SARAH FERRIS and CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO

07/19/2024 06:17 PM EDT

In a meeting with fellow California Democrats last week, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi stressed the need for an open process to choose the party’s next nominee if President Joe Biden steps aside, in an effort to avoid the appearance of a Kamala Harris coronation.

The discussion in that meeting of the California delegation, which includes 40 members, took place in the Capitol on July 10, at least partly focused on the complicated next steps for the Democratic Party if Biden left the ticket. And they specifically talked about the potential political downsides of party elites quickly crowning the vice president as the next nominee, according to four people familiar with the discussion, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Pelosi was one of several California Democrats who stressed that an uncompetitive process would turn off voters, according to those four people.

The concern wasn’t about Harris’ strengths as a candidate — and in fact, several people made clear Harris needed to be the party’s next pick — but instead centered on worries that party bosses were choosing the president, rather than the party’s base.

“Nancy was leading that charge that it needed to be an open process,” according to a person briefed on the meeting, who was granted anonymity to avoid blowback from House leadership.

The debate about how to move forward should Biden step aside is unfolding across every level of the Democratic Party, but it’s particularly notable coming from a group effectively led by Pelosi, who has helped spearhead the public and private discussion about Biden’s condition since his disastrous June 27 debate.

Just hours before this California delegation meeting, for instance, Pelosi went on MSNBC for her now-famous remarks suggesting Biden hadn’t made up his mind on reelection and giving cover to fellow Democrats to speak out publicly. And several of Pelosi’s allies from California, led by Rep. Adam Schiff, who will likely soon be a senator for the state, are loudly urging Biden to exit.

Not all Democrats are on board for a more open process at the convention, however, even among those who think Biden should step aside. That push is being viewed by some involved in the conversations as a specific effort to slow Harris down and potentially allow other contenders to emerge.

The California delegation is a natural source of allyship for Harris, who lives in Los Angeles and represented the state in the Senate. Indeed, Harris is expected to draw several immediate endorsements should she take over, four Democrats in close touch with the delegation said.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a longtime ally of Pelosi, made the case for a “transparent public process” Friday on MSNBC.

“Should he make that decision, there will have to be quick steps. I don’t think we can do a coronation, but obviously the vice president would be the leading candidate,” Lofgren said, floating a “mini primary” with events that she said could be hosted by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

The idea of a so-called “blitz primary” has become a popular idea among many House Democrats, including in the California delegation. It had initially been floated by people close to the Obama administration, according to one person familiar with the internal discussions. But others in the party have dismissed it as farcical with so little time until the convention.

Another option is for Harris to be viewed as the strong front-runner and still allow for an open process, just with the understanding that few, or even no, viable Democrats would challenge her out of fear of being ostracized. In recent weeks, Democratic Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan both said they would not run against Harris.

If Biden drops out in the coming days, Democrats will face an immediate and urgent question about how to proceed. And a huge part of that question will be: Does Biden endorse Harris and, if not, do other party leaders throw their support to her anyway?

Another key question Democrats are asking themselves is more elemental: Can Harris win, and can she help Democrats win the House? One group of battleground Democrats has already approached House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to tell him that Harris would be a strong alternative to Biden. Others, however, aren’t yet sure, waiting for more polling to come back from the field.

Public and private polls show Harris marginally outperforming Biden, but that she runs stronger than other would-be contenders with crucial demographics, particularly Black voters. Harris supporters and allies contend those surveys merely represent her floor and that support for Harris would grow once she assumed the mantle as the titular head of the party.

Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) — who on Friday publicly called on Biden to end his campaign — told POLITICO that he backed Harris, and that she could win his district.

“I think she is the best person,” he said. “How that plays out? I don’t know. I know that people are worried and have legitimate concerns. It’s unknown and there’s uncertainty in that. And I get it. I’m right there, too, but I think this is the right thing.”

But another battleground Democratic lawmaker, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the vice president would not win their district.

“I’ve talked to some Democrats. They don’t want Kamala Harris,” this member said, noting that they have been hearing from voters in their district all week with concerns about Harris as nominee. “Either way, I think it looks difficult in November. Unless you get somebody who really will unite everybody together. But if you get another candidate, what happens to Kamala?”