Local delegates weigh in after Biden drops out of presidential race

EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — Pennsylvania Delegates headed to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August voted to endorse Kamala Harris on Monday.

Excitement and hope are two feelings Delegates say they are bringing with them to the convention.

With the DNC less than a month away, Delegates say they are in full support of Biden’s pick to be his replacement on the ballot: Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The next step will be, the formal official vote through the convention process, which I think we’re all excited for and we are I think united,” said DNC District 8 Delegate Andrew Cutillo.

Democratic delegates from across the Keystone State attending August’s convention held an emergency meeting on Monday, which resulted in their endorsement of the Vice President for the nomination.

“There were no objections. It was a really really exciting and engaged phone call. People could not wait to nominate her. So, I think there’s a real collective feeling of making history,” said Grace McGregor Kramer, a DNC District 8 Delegate.

Delegates say now that Biden has made his decision, people can shift their focus.

“I think so much of the conversation for the past almost year has been about how it’s a repeat of the 2020 match-up and Biden’s age and we haven’t really been able to have a substantial conversation about the issues,” McGregor Kramer continued.

Delegates say Biden’s decision to leave the race was an emotional one, but they believe Harris will deliver on the same promises of her predecessor.

“Ultimately I think we can have all of these feelings and also be ready to move forward,” Cutillo added.

The convention will take place in Chicago from August 19 through August 22.

While Democrats think this is a positive for their party, many local Republicans disagree.

PA’s District 8 Congressional District Republican Candidate Robert Bresnahan responded to Biden’s decision by saying:

It is beyond hypocritical that the Democrat Party elites would so flagrantly undermine democracy by politically knifing Joe Biden and the 14.5 million Americans who chose him as their party’s nominee for President. This action reveals what the far-left extremists running the Democrat party truly value. It’s not about protecting democracy, securing our borders, or addressing crippling inflation. It’s about the Democrat elites’ lust for political power.

Most importantly, we must remember that it was Joe Biden’s extremist policies that made him incredibly unpopular with voters, and those are policies that Congressman Cartwright has supported 100% of the time. To the many hardworking, blue-collar people of Northeastern Pennsylvania who are tired of a Democrat Party that only cares about its far-left, extremist base for an America that Bill Clinton, JFK, and Franklin Roosevelt wouldn’t recognize, I invite you to join us. You have my word that I will always vote for what is best for Northeastern Pennsylvania.

(R) Pennsylvania’s District 8 Congressional District Republican Candidate Robert Bresnahan

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