Wyoming Dems endorse Kamala Harris for president

Wyoming Democrats are falling in line with progressives around the nation who are backing Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.

“This endorsement highlights values that transcend partisan boundaries: honesty, the rule of law, and integrity,” the Wyoming Democratic Party wrote about its endorsement of Harris. “Kamala Harris embodies these principles, making her a leader not just for Democrats, but for all Americans who seek a fair and just society.”

Wyoming’s 13 delegates unanimously voted to endorse Harris on Monday night, but not everyone was happy about President Joe Biden stepping back. Wyoming House Minority Leader Mike Yin (D-Jackson) was part of the discussion that night when the vote occurred.

“There was a little bit of disappointment from some of the delegation about the president making the decision to step down,” Yin said. “Ultimately, it’s a very hard thing for anyone to do, to voluntarily decide that it’s time to move on and let someone else take the wheel, and I really do applaud him for it.”

As Wyoming Democrats told WyoFile last week , the people at the top of the electoral ticket matter, even for races in this rural, red state. And since Biden stepped back from his campaign, Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) said she’s heard from people in her community that they’re more hopeful and inspired to vote.

“Having people excited to vote up ballot is certainly beneficial in getting people to the polls to vote for our down-ballot races that may be decided by a single vote,” she said.

Provenza had previously supported Biden stepping down over fears of voter apathy.

Both Yin and Provenza stressed Harris’ ability to advocate for access to abortion.

“Kamala Harris understands that forced pregnancies and government infringement in our personal health care decisions isn’t what America was founded on,” Provenza said. “I think this is an opportunity to install policies that protect women’s right to abortion access.”

Looking to Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance on the other side of the aisle, Yin said, “We’ve seen with the vice presidential choice on the Republican side a senator chosen that has outwardly spoken that he is in favor of a national abortion ban.”

The duo were cosponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment this year that may have ensured abortion access in Wyoming, but it didn’t get enough votes for introduction in the Legislature. State lawmakers passed two abortion bans last year — a near-total ban and a ban on abortion-inducing medication — but both are tied up in a lawsuit currently at the district court in Jackson.

The context

Biden endorsed Harris less than an hour after announcing that he’d be stepping back from the campaign amid growing concern that he was too old to seek another term. Since then, elected Democrats nationwide have been voicing their support in larger numbers than even those who’d called for Biden to end his run.

Nationally, 268 elected Democrats have endorsed Harris as of Wednesday morning, according to the New York Times. That’s compared to the 14 others whom the Times found hadn’t explicitly backed her.

Among those who’ve endorsed Harris were her theorized opponents in an open primary, like ​​Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Harris has also clinched the pledged support of a majority of delegates she’ll need to secure the presidential nomination of her party, and more than $250 million in donations .

The only Democratic delegations to not pledge a majority of their support to Harris as of Wednesday morning included Alabama, Washington, the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

However, now that Harris has picked up steam, the question becomes: Who will her running mate be?

“I would like to see someone who is going to be a good voice for hard-working people,” Provenza said. “I don’t even pretend to know who it could be, but I hope that candidate is someone who can stand for [issues like reproductive rights and affordable health care] but also is going to bring in voters that maybe are on the fence.”

For Yin, he has many thoughts, but not a lot of people he wants to share them with.

“If [Harris] would like to reach out to me, I would love to share it with her,” he said with a chuckle. “But I think I’ll keep it to myself at this point.”

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