Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), with members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and the CBC’s political action committee, gathered in D.C. on Tuesday to issue a resounding endorsement for Vice President Harris. The Caucus, Horsford said, now has one job: To win the gavels.
“We have 105 days not just to win the White House, but to win the majority in the House of Representatives,” said Horsford, chair of the CBC. “To make Hakeem Jeffries the next speaker, the first Black Speaker in US history; to return the gavel to Maxine Waters over financial services; to Chairman Gregory Meeks over foreign affairs; to Bobby Scott, with Education and Labor; to Bennie Thompson and Department of Homeland Security and all the subcommittee chairs who will also be elevated not only for the gavels, but for the American people.”
The CBC and its PAC endorsed Harris over the weekend, when she announced her campaign. Since then, multiple Black organizations and legislators have expressed their support for Harris.
CBC members, including Democratic Reps. Joyce Beatty (Ohio) — former chair of the CBC — Jasmine Crockett (Texas) and Barbara Lee (Calif.), joined Horsford to offer their support for Harris.
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), who is running for the U.S. Senate, pointed out that Harris has consistently made history, paving the way for others like herself in the Democratic Party.
“We know that in the history of this country, there have only been three Black women in the United States Senate,” she said. “We have had Carol Moseley Braun. We had Kamala Harris. We have Laphonza Butler. And number four and five are coming.”
Harris, who launched her campaign on Sunday after President Biden withdrew and endorsed her, crossed the threshold to secure the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday, with over 1,968 delegate endorsements.
The CBC’s endorsement was unsurprising, as members had endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket previously, even as some Democrats called for him to step aside after his poor debate performance against former President Trump in June.
Still, CBC members on Tuesday thanked Biden for his time in office and for passing the baton to the next generation.
But they also issued a dire warning to Black voters about what is at stake in this year’s election.
“I'm old enough to remember when I traveled with my parents, to their home in South Carolina, and saw signs that said colored and white. I don't want to go back to that. That wasn't the best time for America,” said CBC PAC chairman Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.). “I can remember that my father and parents could not vote, did not have the right. We're not going back to that America.”
Members including Horsford spoke of the need to defeat Trump in November as they soundly rejected arguments that Harris is unqualified to be president.
“It's going to take all of us to defeat Donald Trump. Now, the vice president is the most prepared, the most qualified person to win this nomination,” said Horsford. “She has now secured the nomination as our presumptive nominee. She is the most qualified and prepared person to defeat Donald Trump and she is the most prepared and qualified person to lead us forward, not backward. She is the future of our party, and she is the next generation of leaders.”
