Hot dish 07/25/24

By Briana Bierschbach

Good morning. It’s day five of the post-Joe Biden 2024 presidential campaign. He addressed the nation on Wednesday for the first time since he announced he would be a one-term president, insisting that ‘’the defense of democracy is more important than any title.”

Meanwhile, virtual delegate voting on who should be the new Democratic nominee will begin on Aug. 1, according to a plan adopted by the DNC’s rules committee on Wednesday. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is co-chair of that committee and has defended an early virtual vote, arguing it’s how the party has done it since the COVID-19 pandemic.

There may not be much complaining about the process after all. Kamala Harris said she’s already locked down the support of enough delegates to win the nomination and no one has emerged to challenge her.

Walz is also still maybe, possibly being vetted for vice president to run alongside Harris, even if he’s not saying so. He did secure a few endorsements for VP on social media yesterday, including from Minnesota U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who posted on X that she’s “all in on Gov. Tim Walz for VP.” Former presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke also called Walz “the real deal,” and gun control activist David Hogg spent much of his Wednesday trying to whip up support for Walz on the social media platform.

We might not have to speculate on his future for too long. Under the rules adopted by the DNC Wednesday, the party’s nominee must select a running mate after the virtual vote on Aug. 1 and before a deadline for ballot access in Ohio on Aug. 7.

DOMINOES: That’s still plenty of time for us to ponder the ripple effect Walz’s possible departure would have in Minnesota. The state’s Constitution is clear on the line of succession: If the governor were to vacate his office, the state’s lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, would take his place. The last presiding officer of the Minnesota Senate, DFL Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, would fill the role of lieutenant governor, writes Ryan Faircloth.

The ascension of both would mark historic milestones: Flanagan would be Minnesota’s first female and Native American governor, and Champion would be the state’s first Black lieutenant governor, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.

This scenario could cause some headaches for Democrats in the state Senate, which is currently tied 33-33 pending a November special election to replace Sen. Kelly Morrison, who is running for Congress. Depending on the timing, Champion’s departure from the Minnesota Senate could temporarily give control of the chamber to Republicans until a special election is held to fill his blue Minneapolis seat.

HARRIS: And as Harris quickly ascends as the replacement take on former President Donald Trump in November, Josie Albertson-Grove writes that Democrats in Minnesota and nationwide are hoping to build enthusiasm among voters who might be swayed by a candidate positioned to be the first Black woman and first South Asian woman nominee for president.

“Representation matters and people get excited about that,” said Shivanthi Sathananda, the battleground state director for South Asians for Harris. The DFL said that Monday and Tuesday, the first two full days after Biden dropped out, delivered record fundraising days for the state party; some $200,000 came in since Harris announced her candidacy. More than 600 people signed up to volunteer since Harris got in, according to party officials, also a record.

Turnout from voters of color will be key in Minnesota and across the Midwest. University of Minnesota political science professor Michael Minta told Albertson-Grove that lower turnout for Hillary Clinton among non-white voters, compared to turnout for Barack Obama, was part of the reason Trump came close to winning the state in 2016. On the flip side, Minta said, Harris also has the potential to motivate voters who do not want to see a woman of color become president.

BALLOT: The news over the weekend that Biden dropped out of the presidential race caused misinformation to circulate on social media that Minnesota’s November ballots were already locked in. But Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said state law “makes it clear” that both major parties still have until Aug. 26 to report the names of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the Nov. 5 ballot.

So far, only the campaign of independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. has submitted candidates’ names and signatures required to get on the ballot as a minor party. Major parties don’t need to submit signatures.

NETANYAHU: Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar both ended up attending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Wednesday address to a joint session of Congress, my colleague Sydney Kashiwagi observed from the House gallery.

Both of their offices declined to say in advance whether they would attend. Klobuchar sat in the front row but did not applaud and cheer like many of the other members when the prime minister entered the chamber.

Kashiwagi had a clear view of Klobuchar, who applauded selectively during the speech, but was not able to view Smith.

Rep. Ilhan Omar did not attend and gave her ticket to a family member of an Israeli hostage in Gaza. She later announced that her guest was arrested for peacefully protesting the speech.

ENDORSEMENT WATCH: The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) has endorsed Joe Fraser in the U.S. Senate primary over Royce White, also via Kashiwagi.

The group touted Fraser’s willingness to support Israel and to take a stand against the revival of the Iran nuclear deal. And they slammed White for being an “eager promoter of antisemitic conspiracy theories and an avid defender of egregious antisemites.”

“[White] echoes the rhetoric of the Left’s antisemitic fanatics, describing Israel as ‘a country that takes our tax money to be ethno-national’ in a comment made not long after Hamas’s October 7th attacks,” RJC said in a statement. They also criticized Klobuchar for not taking a stand against Omar’s “antisemitism.”

White for one was not happy that the endorsement went to Fraser and took to X to bash the decision.

WHERE’S WALZ:

This morning, Walz will attend an event “celebrating new legislation that protects workers from employer misclassification,” according to his public events schedule. At 3:30 p.m. he’ll attend the investiture ceremony of new Supreme Court Associate Justice Sarah Hennesy.

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