By Gabriella Borter and Bianca Flowers
(Reuters) -Black Lives Matter demanded on Tuesday that the Democratic National Committee immediately host an informal, virtual snap primary across the country prior to the DNC convention in August, just hours after Vice President Kamala Harris secured enough delegates for the nomination.
“We call for the Rules Committee to create a process that allows for public participation in the nomination process, not just a nomination by party delegates,” BLM said in a statement provided to Reuters.
“The current political landscape is unprecedented, with President Biden stepping aside in a manner never seen before. This moment calls for decisive action to protect the integrity of our democracy and the voices of Black voters,” the statement said.
The statement by the group, which is a decentralized political and racial justice movement that helped lead the global protests over police violence in 2020, interrupts a steady drumbeat of left-leaning voices and groups that have vowed to support Harris after Biden endorsed her on Sunday.
Harris’ campaign has raked in $100 million since Sunday, with millions coming from the rapid mobilization of Black leaders and advocates. She would be the first Black woman and Asian American to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said Monday the Democratic party will deliver a presidential nominee by Aug. 7.
“The process has been fair. It’s been open. It’s been transparent,” Harrison said in a Today Show interview that aired Tuesday morning. “But if anybody is thinking about running, you’re running against the sitting vice president, who, along with Joe Biden, has worked really hard going across this country building relationships and is probably the most qualified person to be on this ballot.”
The DNC and Harris’ campaign did not reply immediately to request for comment.
BLM said that while President Joe Biden wasn’t their preferred candidate, the Democratic Party’s actions surrounding his candidacy and dropping out were “troubling.”
“Following the primary where millions of Black voters weighed in, after one poor debate performance, the DNC Party elites and billionaire donors bullied Joe Biden out of the race,” the group noted.
“Now, Democratic Party elites and billionaire donors are attempting to manipulate Black voters by anointing Kamala Harris and an unknown vice president as the new Democratic ticket without a primary vote by the public.”
Black voters, and especially Black women, have historically been the most reliable Democratic voting bloc, and large swaths of Black Americans have already pledged support for Harris.
Tens of thousands of Black supporters joined organizing calls on Sunday and Monday, including political and business leaders, and raised nearly $3 million for Harris’ campaign.
More than 44,000 Black women and allies joined a three-hour call Sunday evening hosted by Win With Black Women, an intersectional network of Black women leaders. The call featured several prominent Black women, including U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Jasmine Crockett and Joyce Beatty, as well as political strategists and celebrities. Attendees donated $1.5 million, organizers said.
A similar call hosted by Win With Black Men on Monday lasted four hours, had some 45,000 attendees and raised $1.3 million for the campaign, organizers said.
BLM noted that while the potential outcome of a Harris presidency may be historic, “the process to achieve it must align with true democratic values.”
“We have no idea where Kamala Harris stands on the issues, now that she has assumed Joe Biden’s place, and we have no idea of the record of her potential vice president because we don’t even know who it is yet,” BLM said.
“This is not an attack on Kamala Harris or Black women, and right now we aren’t questioning Kamala’s qualifications or capabilities,” said Shalomyah Bowers, a Black Lives Matter leader. “This is about the nominating process.”
(Reporting by Bianca Flowers, Gabriella Borter and Kat Stafford; Editing by Nick Zieminski)