Colorado delegates, congressional members give thoughts on nominating process

DENVER ( KDVR ) — Reactions following President Joe Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee continue to pour in, including from Colorado Democrats, who are weighing in about where the party goes from here as they look to select a nominee.

Late Monday, Harris had enough pledged delegates to be the party nominee. The Associated Press reported that 2,214 delegates either told reporters or announced that they are planning to support Harris at the convention — far exceeding the 1,976 benchmark set by Democratic National Committee rules.

Vice President Harris is getting support from delegates here in Colorado and beyond. FOX31 spoke with one of those delegates from Denver about the unprecedented times the party is entering.

Of Colorado’s 87 delegates, 37 told the AP they’re supporting Harris and five said they are undecided. The others have not yet responded to the AP survey.

“I don’t even know if I can fully articulate how exciting it would be for me to be able to participate in Chicago in electing a woman of color to be our candidate,” said state representative Meg Froelich.

Froelich said she is thrilled to be heading to the Democratic National Convention for a third time. This time around, she is going as one of the state’s elected officials serving as a delegate; this will be her second time serving as a delegate overall. Froelich said she was ready to support Biden as a nominee, but she is getting behind the candidate he endorsed.

“I think the American voter, but certainly the delegates were imagining a Harris presidency at some point. Right? So either now or in four years,” Froelich said. The representative also supported Harris’ 2020 bid for president.

Colorado’s senators were back in town Monday, sharing their thoughts about the party’s process of selecting a nominee going forward.

“Obviously, the delegates are going to make the decision. But I do think it’s important to recognize that time is really short and it is just a very unusual circumstance we all find ourselves in,” said Colorado Senator Michael Bennet.

“I agree completely: we need to have to have an open process. And the delegates should, I fully expect other people will get into the race. I endorsed vice president Harris because over the last several years, I spent enough time with her and I’ve seen her in action,” said Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper.

In order to become the nominee, a candidate needs 1,976 delegates to throw their support behind them. Froelich believes Harris will have that.

“I think the decision is really is who is going to share that ticket, not so much who is going to oppose her at convention. I don’t think there is a mechanism in place in which a person is going to be able to get enough support pre-convention to qualify,” Froelich said. “I think a really smart decision will be made on who that person is and I think the process will be open but I also don’t think it will be particularly contentious.”

The convention begins on Aug. 19, but delegates said they may have a solid idea of what the ticket would look like a lot sooner than that. Democrats are set to meet on Wednesday to go over the next steps ahead of the convention.

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