A day after Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and threw his weight behind his vice president, Kamala Harris has already garnered support from several prominent Democrats in Detroit.
Biden, 81, announced Sunday that he believed it was in the best interest of the Democratic party to “stand down” and endorsed Harris, 59, as the nominee to challenge former president Donald Trump on Nov. 5. Lately, there have been concerns over Biden’s age and fitness to run for president.
The move has reinvigorated some Detroit Democrats who say the historic turn of events could help the party gain the ground it needs in the final 100 days leading up to the general election and would mean another first: A Black female president. Some Detroiters support the shift, but say they know little about Harris’ record and are watching to see how she engages with likely voters.
Jonathan Kinloch, a Wayne County commissioner and 13th District Chair of the state Democratic Party, said Harris is the natural choice to succeed Biden on the ballot but the campaign could still be tough.
“The bottom line is we can’t ignore something that this country refused to recognize: Race is still a huge factor. The only reason a candidate like Donald Trump exists is because of eight years of repudiation of a Black man being in the White House,” he said.
Kinloch said there’s excitement from the community about the opportunity to have another Black person at the helm of the White House and there’s buzz ahead of the Democratic convention.
“The event that was a sleeper is now going to be an extravaganza of excitement,” he said. “It doesn’t change the fact that with all of this energy, we’ve to turn that into beating the pavement.”
Those efforts, he said, will come into play around the general election ballot. But Kinloch said he expects a willingness from Detroit and other Black and brown communities around the state to listen to what the caucus has to say.
“I think we’re going to see some Barack Obama numbers,” in November, he said.
Charity Dean, president and CEO of the Michigan Black Business Alliance, characterized the news as a “slight change” because Biden and Harris have worked hand in hand and generally have the same beliefs. When word came, Dean said some were shocked, scared and full of doubt. But, “overall, people are fired up.”
“We’re going to see more people engaged than would have been if there was no change,” said Dean, who also owns the coffee shop, Rosa, and joined a national Zoom call Sunday with 44,000 other Black women organized by Win With Black Women to mobilize for Harris.
Dean launched the Facebook group Michigan for Kamala Harris Sunday, which already has a few thousand members, to organize and engage for Harris’ campaign locally.
“In 2016, I will never forget feeling like, ‘Oh my god, I should have done more. (Since then) I’ve been committed to making sure I’m doing my part,” she said. “There’s power in Black women. Black women can motivate in ways that have been undervalued in our political system.”
In her time outside of work, Dean said she’ll be present in Detroit to convene discussions on the election and politics to educate voters about Harris, a former California attorney general, prosecutor and U.S. senator. Dean wants constituents to know what Harris has accomplished in and outside of the White House and to target misinformation.
“The first thing is that we should really reframe how we approach this (campaign). There is so much misogyny and racism that makes us ask questions of the sitting vice president that we would not have if the sitting vice president had been a white man.
“Second, people also misunderstand the role of a vice president. We’re not voting for a person, we’re voting for a government,” Dean said. “What team is best suited to get us to where we need to go. When someone is first there is so much pressure. The first Black woman vice president and now people say ‘what does she do?’”
Another major name backing Harris is Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who said he signed a letter of support with other area mayors. Duggan said Biden and Harris brought Detroit’s recovery back a decade ahead of time.
He noted during an unrelated news conference Monday that the Biden administration has directed federal aid toward replacing lead water service lines as well as thousands of roofs for low-income seniors. Duggan also noted the addition of recreation centers, buses and the construction of Roosevelt Park in front of Michigan Central.
“All of those (investments) came because of the Biden-Harris administration’s support for this city and this state,” he said.
Duggan, who shares a close connection with Biden, said the president has meant a great deal to the city.
“But Vice President Harris has shared the commitments and I’m proud to be campaigning for her,” he said. “I am a delegate at the convention and I will be voting for her nomination next month and we’ll be campaigning hard for her.”
The mayor said he was already working to coordinate an intense door-knocking effort before Biden’s announcement between unions, Democratic elected officials, activist groups and others to solicit support from Detroiters who don’t always vote.
This year, the city has 15 early election days, beginning three Saturdays before the election at 14 polling locations.
An agenda reflecting Detroiters’ priorities
During her time as vice president, Harris has been focused on issues that are important to Detroiters and metro-area residents, including protecting reproductive rights, addressing an influx of immigration, expanding voting rights and calling for a ceasefire to the war in Gaza.
Harris has met with lawmakers from at least 18 states since the overturning of Roe v Wade to discuss the issue of protecting reproductive rights. Earlier this year, she spoke at a reproductive freedom rally at her alma mater, Howard University, and blasted abortion bans.
At her last appearance at a political rally in Michigan on July 17, Harris spoke at length about potential attacks on reproductive health care should Trump win a second term in the White House in November. The vice president hammered new Trump running mate JD Vance, Ohio’s Republican junior senator, who has maintained a hardline stance on abortions, opposing them for any reason — including rape and incest — unless to save the life of the mother.
“He’s told us over and over again where he is on the subject,” Harris said of Trump, who has waffled for months on whether he supports a national abortion ban.
In 2022, 57% of Michigan voters supported an amendment enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution.
Early in his presidency, Biden tapped Harris to spearhead the White House’s efforts to address immigration and the border crisis with Mexico. Her efforts were delayed and drew harsh criticism from Republicans. In May 2023, the backlash grew to the point where Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, sent busloads of asylum seekers from the border to the Vice President’s residence in D.C. In February, Harris’ public-private partnership for Northern Central America, called Central America Forward was formed. It has since secured more than $4.2 billion in private sector commitments for creating jobs and other measures to slow mass migration, according to a CNN report.
Detroit has not seen the same influx of Latin American migrants as New York, where the mayor has declared it as a humanitarian crisis, or in border states like Texas. But there has been a seemingly large number of migrants moving in, particularly those from Central America, with nonprofits and advocacy organizations mobilizing to help.
The city of Detroit said it does not have data on the total number of migrants that have arrived here.
Harris has also pushed for the John R. Lewis Act to be passed by Congress. It extends the protections offered in the 1965 Voting Rights Act and makes it so the federal government must approve some local election law changes. The legislation has since stalled.
Detroit and the state of Michigan have in recent years made efforts increase voting accessibility. That includes early voting centers, no-reason absentee voting and more ballot boxes.
And in March, Harris called for a ceasefire of the war in Gaza, even as Biden continued support for Israel. She has continued to call for an end to the fighting, facilitating a hostage swap and allowing more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
During the Feb. 27 presidential primary, thousands of voters in parts of Detroit, Dearborn and Hamtramck voted uncommitted as a protest against Biden’s stance on Israel and the war with Hamas. In total, 13% voted uncommitted in that race.
Dean noted the Biden-Harris team has been staunch supporters of Black people, of Michigan, Detroit and small business.
“Her office specifically rallied to make sure that ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding was getting to small businesses in a way that it had not been previously,” said Dean, noting a Brookings Institute research on the Black business boom over the past few years. “That is absolutely due to intentionality that starts with Congress and the Biden-Harris team and even in this state and locally.”
Finding the support
Biden’s departure from the race drew mixed reactions from Detroiters, with many backing Harris but wondering if it’s too late for the Democratic party to make the transition.
Detroit resident DeJon Remsey says the timing of the decision is “out of whack.”
“I think Harris is a good candidate, however, the only thing I didn’t like was the timing of the situation,” he said. “To me, it’s too late in the game to try something, because you have to establish to the people what’s next, and what’s to come, and to do it at this point in time, everyone has to get used to the next thing, you know, the next man up.”
Detroiter Brenda Miller commended Biden for his decision to step aside. She’s supportive of Harris as the Democratic candidate and Biden’s endorsement.
“What I do know is that she has been by his side for four years. I personally believe that they have accomplished a lot for the belief systems and things I believe should happen, they have tried to do what they can do,” Miller told BridgeDetroit. “I think with the right running mate she would make an excellent president.”
Miller said she had been concerned about whether Biden could move forward, but was going to vote for him regardless. “I do not stand with the opponent’s views at all. I just don’t,” Miller said.
Tiyana Shaw said she’s not heard much about Harris. The Detroiter said she views Harris “on the quiet side” and “not as vocal as people we’ve seen in the past.”
But, “I am very excited to see what kind of campaign she’s going to run and the issues that are very important to her. I’m open.”
Keith Williams said polling thus far hasn’t shown a deep commitment to Trump or Biden. But Harris will add a new spirit to this whole process, he said.
“She’s fresh, although she has worked with the president,” he said. “She’s been paving her own way.”
He said he’s focused on reaching more African American men to tell them ‘hey, there’s nothing wrong with having a sister in the White House.
“She exudes confidence, you can feel you’re in good hands with Kamala,” he said. “I’m gonna go out and pound the pavement and let people know.”
Rachel Smith said she wants Black Detroiters to “get out there and vote,” just like they did for Obama.
“I want that kind of turnout and we can have it,” she said.
Nushrat Rahman contributed to this report
