Several Democratic leaders are putting their support behind current Vice President Kamala Harris, and calling for the rest of the party to unite behind her as presidential candidate after receiving Joe Biden's endorsement Sunday. Among them were Minnesota U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.
Senator Klobuchar tells WCCO's Vineeta Sawkar that the call came through while she was at MSP Airport.
"She was, of course, in good spirits and we talked about the help that she would need throughout the country," Klobuchar told the WCCO Morning News. "She knows that I've done a lot of campaigning and wanted me to help her. We had a good talk about what this meant, and the organization that she has to build in just 105 days."
That doesn't mean Senator Klobuchar or Smith are ready to end the process for Democrats.
With the National Convention coming up August 19-22, there are only a few weeks to decide who delegates will choose to officially be on the ballot in November. She said other qualified candidates should absolutely come forward.
"Of course, and this time there will be whatever process we can have in the next few weeks," she says. "If people want to come forward, credible candidates and run, there's going to be a process. But you've seen a lot of the people that could be running endorsing Kamala Harris."
Also speaking to the WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar was Minnesota's other Senator, Tina Smith. She said Harris is ready for the presidency.
"We're not seeing anybody else getting into the race, and I think one of the reasons that's happening is that she is such a strong contender," Smith explains. "She is so qualified. She has been already elected with President Biden and by the American voters."
One of those candidates, Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) made his intentions clear. The former Democrat had been rumored to be interested in re-registering for the party and making a run at the White House. But Manchin told CBS News Monday morning that he is not running for office, nor does he have interest in being a VP candidate on a Harris presidential ticket.
Klobuchar says the process to pick a running mate would be like speed dating.
When Klobuchar was up for Biden's vice presidential choice in 2020, it took several months and many meetings before he ultimately chose Harris as his running mate.
Should Harris become the choice for the Democrats, Klobuchar says the list of potential VP is long and full of quality candidates.
"She actually has this incredible list of people that she can look at to pick a candidate," Senator Klobuchar said. It's going to be a little bit of a speed dating situation. Fortunately, she knows a lot of these people, including (Minnesota) Governor Walz. So I think they'll be able to get it narrowed down quickly."
Walz posted on social media Monday morning saying he had a conversation with Harris, adding "you have my support" and "let's go win this thing."
Both Klobuchar and Smith believe Harris is the person to help unify the Democratic Party in the race against Republican nominee Donald Trump.