SF Democratic Party Throws Support Behind Kamala Harris if President Biden Steps Down

Updated 3:20 p.m. Friday

Seven San Francisco Democratic Party leaders signed an open letter (DOC) to the Democratic National Committee on Friday, urging them to support Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee should President Joe Biden step aside.

The announcement comes just a day after Biden’s news conference following this week’s NATO summit, where he reaffirmed his plans to stay in the race despite concern from some fellow Democrats about his ability to defeat former President Trump in November.

After Biden stumbled his way through last month’s debate against Trump, Thursday’s news conference was closely scrutinized as calls for him to pass the torch have escalated. Although the letter from San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee leaders did not explicitly urge Biden to exit the race, a couple of members joined those calls individually.

“She’s polling better in swing states which is where this race will come down to nationally,” said DCCC member Bilal Mahmood, who called Harris “the only option to defeat Trump” in a social media post on Friday. “

“I believe, on the individual level, he should step down. It’s a risk to down-ballot races as well,” Mahmood told KQED, noting that Harris choosing a new running mate could further energize the party’s base of voters. “Just a few months ago the House was in winning territory for Democrats, and now we are not.”

The DCCC members who signed on to the letter were Mahmood, San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey, Lanier Coles, Parag Gupta, Joe Sangirardi, Cedric Akbar and Jade Tu. Together they make up just under a third of the 24-member committee.

“Our party has fought to undo the work of the first Trump administration,” Dorsey said in a statement. “If Donald Trump is re-elected President, he will take our country into a dark age.”

Venture capitalist Ron Conway, a Democratic megadonor and a top sponsor for the DCCC gala on Thursday, has taken his concerns with Biden’s campaign performances directly to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, CNBC reported Friday. Pelosi made waves when she said Wednesday on MSNBC that “time is running short” for Biden to decide whether he’ll stay in the race — a decision he has said repeatedly he’s already made.

Meanwhile, Mayor London Breed joined other Democratic mayors on Tuesday in a virtual meeting with President Biden. In an interview with KTVU this week, Breed told reporters she supports him staying in the race.

A spokesperson for Breed’s office declined to comment on the presidential ticket Friday.

One recent national poll (DOC) conducted by Bendixen & Amandi found Biden trailing Trump with 42% of respondents saying they would vote for the current president and 43% prefer Trump. The same poll found Harris leading Trump 43% to 42%.

Harris has deep roots with San Francisco’s Democratic Party. She grew up in Berkeley and graduated from UC Law San Francisco before becoming San Francisco’s first female district attorney from 2004 to 2010 and later California’s attorney general.

“This election is a fight for our democracy,” the letter from the DCCC members reads. “And Harris is the candidate with the most viable path to victory.”