‘It is a serious matter’: AKA’s, local Republicans speak on VP Harris’ likely presidential run

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The presumptive Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, received the endorsement of two key democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies officials announced their support.

Harris, who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, also garnered support from the President of the Gamma Theta Omega Chapter of AKA in Tampa, who said she was excited to hear the news.

“It was elating just a feeling you can’t describe,” Tangela Dupree said. “Of course, it energized us. Everybody now wants to do whatever they can do. But most importantly, what we do is inform, educate, mobilize, and get the information that’s presented to us, and present it to the people.”

The chapter has worked in the Tampa Bay area for 85 years. They host different events like Stroll to the Polls and forums with candidates. They have lots of events planned for this election season.

“It is a serious matter, and we are soaring to the polls,” Dupree said.

It’s not just because Harris is a member of the sorority, but Dupree said there is so much on the line.

“This election is going to determine democracy,” Dupree said. “As a woman, as a mother, as an aunt, a sister, a daughter, it is critically important that you know who is going to represent your interests personally.”

In just hours, Harris garnered millions of dollars for her campaign. The majority of the Democratic delegates committee to her becoming the party’s presidential nominee.

The Sarasota Republican Party said this excluded democratic voters from picking who they wanted as a nominee, and they encouraged voters to consider what Harris has and has not done.

“I don’t think there’s any record for her to run on. There’s her historic-ness which she can run on and that’s about it,” Rob Thomson, with the Sarasota Republican Party, said. “My sense among Republicans of Sarasota County is their not particularly afraid of her. They see her as probably one of the best replacements to run against.”

Dupree said Harris’ accomplishments as the Vice President, California’s Attorney General, and a member of the U.S. Senate speak for itself.

“She has won numerous elections and she has done her own hard work by becoming an educated African American woman who has worked her way into the position she’s in now,” Dupree said.

Both groups agree voters need to do their own research and make informed decisions at the polls. Thomson is predicting a close race in November.

“I would love to see Americans make decisions and American voters make decisions on that basis and not on an emotional feeling of the candidate,” Thomson said.

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