鈥淪he鈥檚 tough, she鈥檚 smart and she鈥檚 ready to unite the country. Kamala Harris should be our next President,鈥� Kotek said in a statement.
Other high-profile Oregon Democratic politicians have also thrown their weight behind Harris, including U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle of Eugene.
鈥淧eople voted for a Biden-Harris ticket 鈥� I voted for Kamala Harris as part of that ticket. She鈥檚 incredibly qualified, part of an administration described as one of the most consequential of my lifetime,鈥� Hoyle said.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said Harris shares his vision for 鈥渢aking on the powerful to deliver for the people鈥� and promised to do all he can to help her win.
Despite support rolling in for Harris from high-profile Oregon Democrats, the is uncertain on its next steps, limiting comments to only say party officials will 鈥渟hare further information about the process of selecting a new nominee as information becomes available.鈥�
In May, the Democratic Party of Oregon touted nearly 90% of support for President Joe Biden, noting a record number of people were involved in the process. Oregon has 78 delegates. Now, despite support coming in for Harris from high-profile Democrats like Hoyle and Kotek, who are so-called super delegates, the state party said its next steps are murkier and they are awaiting more instructions from the national party.
As of Monday midday, all of Oregon鈥檚 Democratic Congressional delegation had thrown their weight behind Harris. U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who was the first Democrat in Oregon鈥檚 Congressional delegation to publicly state the president shouldn鈥檛 run, announced on Think Out Loud on Monday afternoon he was also supporting Harris.
Rosa Colquitt, who chairs the state鈥檚 Democratic party, said she is surveying all of the Oregon delegates with the hopes of being able to say they are largely united behind Harris. Colquitt said she鈥檚 optimistic that will happen soon and she will be able to send a letter to the Harris campaign pledging the support of Oregon鈥檚 delegates. From there, though, what happens at the convention remains uncertain.
鈥淗ow is this going to unfold at the convention itself? Will be there a first vote on the ballot and a second vote? Will it be contested? We don鈥檛 know the answers to any of those questions,鈥� Colquitt said.
The uncertainty, she said, has been tough.
鈥淚 can say we are striving as a party to move forward in an orderly unified fashion. This hasn鈥檛 been an easy three weeks for people who love democracy and I do love democracy.鈥�
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held in Chicago from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22. The DNC鈥檚 rules committee is meeting on Wednesday to discuss the process for picking a new nominee. The meeting is open, and the public can view it on the channel.
Democrats must still formally nominate Harris, which would happen either through a virtual vote early next month or in an open convention.
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