When Eric Jackson, secretary of the Modesto NAACP, attended the association’s national convention in Las Vegas, he eagerly anticipated President Joe Biden’s address.
The president was energetic and delivered a great speech, Jackson said. Everyone showed enthusiasm and readiness to support him in the upcoming election.
But just four days after the convention concluded, Biden surprised many by announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris instead.
“I was surprised, but I was not knocked off my feet that he decided to step down,” Jackson said.
Across the Central Valley, members of the Democratic Party and organizers from various communities have been sharing their reaction to the sudden shift in this year’s election.
State Sen. Anna Caballero, who represents communities from southwest Fresno County to Merced, said she has been bothered by the public criticism and pressure Biden received in the lead-up to his decision.
“We have a process — and it’s a fair and democratic process — and just because someone has a bad day, you just don’t decide you’re going to change horses in the middle of the race,” she said Monday in a phone interview.
Caballero said she has accepted the decision by Biden, who she said has “done a tremendous job for our country.” The state senator also said that she is happy to support Harris’ candidacy, and that the vice president’s experience as a public prosecutor will help her run a strong campaign against former President Donald Trump.
“She stood up before, in front of people, and has delivered information to convince them to do the right thing,” Caballero said of Harris. “It’s going to be the battle of the attorney general against a convicted criminal, and that’s the bottom line.”
Since the news of Biden’s decision, Lise Talbott, president of the Central Valley Democratic Club, said her group has received a large number of calls, emails and texts from Stanislaus County voters ready to get Harris elected if she becomes the nominee.
“Enthusiasm is higher than I’ve seen in a long time,” Talbott said.
Support from Black community
Jackson said many concerns from the Black community flow through his office, with housing and education topping the list.
Biden addressed some of these critical issues during his speech at the NAACP convention, and Jackson believes Harris will be able to carry on his work.
Having observed Harris as a strong-willed vice president over the past four years, Jackson believes she’s fit for the position. “I’m biased because she’s from California, but I think she’ll be a great candidate for president,” Jackson said.
Madera Councilmember Anita Evans, the first Black woman to serve on the City Council, called Harris a trailblazer as the first woman of Black and Asian descent to serve as the country’s vice president, and now as the front-runner for the Democratic ticket.
“I see her being our next president,” Evans said. “I am so thankful … for her to stand on the shoulders of so many that came before her, and for her to do the things that she has done, fighting for women’s rights, fighting for the protection of women’s bodies, fighting for equality, for the border.”
Evans said Harris should focus on job creation and diversifying the job market to increase opportunities for people of color. She also thinks Harris would be able to help California address homelessness and the country address climate change, noting Monday’s highs approaching 110 degrees in the Central Valley.
“Instead of people being so negative and finding fault, we need to all rally around her and be there for her,” Evans said. “Help her to help us. Help her to help herself give us what the American people need. We don’t need someone up there that thinks he’s a dictator.”
Winning the Latino vote
Some polls and studies show Trump and Republicans making inroads with Latinos, but Sen. Caballero said those polls can be problematic because they use outdated methods to contact potential voters. Still, she said, “there’s no question that there’s confusion in the Latino community about who to support.”
The Democratic nominee and other blue candidates down the ticket will need to get their message in front of Latinos, meeting them face-to-face in their communities.
“It’s about families, it’s about good jobs, it’s about affordable housing, it’s about health care,” Caballero said. “These are the things that, when I go out and I talk to the Latino community, they want to know about. It’s not calling names, it’s not vilifying people, it’s not about taking over the government.”
Myrna Martinez, a community organizer in the Fresno area who works with youth and immigrants, said Harris has a unique opportunity to reshape the Democrats’ campaign. But the vice president also has much work left to mobilize a base that includes many who have become apathetic about the available candidates, she said.
Martinez thinks Harris should bring comprehensive immigration reform back to the conversation as she tries to make inroads with Latinos. After the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy enacted by former President Barack Obama in 2012, immigrants thought there would be progress made toward more reforms, she said.
“(Immigrants) feel that they have been waiting, they have mobilized, they have organized, and nothing has happened,” Martinez said. “People don’t know when the conversation is going to start again.”
Karlha Arias, president of the Latino Community Roundtable in Modesto, said that as a woman of color, she’s excited about Harris’ potential nomination, but she’s also worried for what’s to come.
“There’s bias in politics. It’s all about character assassination,” Arias said.
She believes Harris’ nomination could provide representation for many people, especially women and people of color. She pointed to Mexico’s recent election of its first female president as a precedent.
“If Mexico can do it, why can’t America?” Arias said.
Arias highlighted the economic struggles of Modesto’s Latino community and expressed hope that the new administration would prioritize addressing those concerns.
Representation for South Asian community
“It is inspiring to see Kamala Harris’ journey, from a daughter of immigrants to running for our nation’s highest office,” said Stanislaus County Board of Supervisor Chairman Mani Grewal. “As a son of immigrants, it serves as a great reminder of how with hard work and determination the American Dream is attainable to everyone.”
Grewal is among the first Sikh Americans to be elected to a county board of supervisors in California.
In the Fresno area, Naindeep Singh, executive director of the Jakara Movement, a nonprofit with organizers in the Fresno area who aid the Punjabi Sikh community, said he has seen a sense of relief in his community that Biden is stepping away from the election. However, many in his community continue to wonder what type of presidential candidate Harris would be. Younger Punjabi Sikhs are more progressive and have plenty of criticism for the Biden administration’s foreign policy, Singh said.
Singh said immigrant communities come to this country because of a sense of optimism and hope, but the rhetoric from America’s political parties has been overwhelmingly negative in recent years.
“An alternative narrative that feels real, that feels authentic and has policy platforms that show that can be a possibility – I don’t think that has been espoused yet,” he said.
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