Nancy Pelosi endorses Kamala Harris, quashing doubts about Democratic unity

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee to challenge Donald Trump in November, likely quashing any possibility of another candidate entering the race.

Pelosi, a towering presence among San Francisco Democrats, posted the endorsement Monday morning on X, saying she has “full confidence” in the vice president in the upcoming race.

“Officially, I have seen Kamala Harris’ strength and courage as a champion for working families, notably fighting for a woman’s right to choose,” Pelosi wrote. “Personally, I have known Kamala Harris for decades as rooted in strong values, faith and a commitment to public service. Politically, make no mistake: Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute — and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”

Besides former President Barack Obama’s endorsement, Pelosi’s was seen as the most important one for Harris to secure as Democrats attempt to unify in their fight against Trump.

While many Democratic Party leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, endorsed Harris after President Joe Biden gave her the nod yesterday, Pelosi notably did not mention the vice president in her initial statement about Biden’s withdrawal from the race. That led to immediate speculation that Pelosi, who appears to have helped orchestrate Biden’s exit, was angling toward an open primary among Democrats.

The party will gather for its convention in August in Chicago.

Pelosi is joined by a broad coalition of local Democrats backing Harris, endorsements that come as no surprise considering the presumptive nominee’s ties to San Francisco as a former top prosecutor. 

At a rally Monday morning, moderate and progressive Democrats stood at the steps of City Hall to back the vice president, a respite from the infighting that has been a near-daily occurrence in the lead-up to November’s local races.

Many said they had known Harris and her work for decades — and that her past roles as local and state attorney, as well as a U.S. senator, were more than enough on-the-job experience to take on Trump and defend the White House.

“We, as Democrats, don’t have time to waste,” Mayor London Breed said at Monday’s rally. “We don’t have time to mess around and to figure things out and to decide, well, maybe this person; well, maybe that person. Kamala Harris is the person.”

Breed was joined by Democratic County Central Committee Chair Nancy Tung, City Attorney David Chiu and a handful of supervisors, including Board President Aaron Peskin, who attended grade school with Harris.

“She didn’t just start as a prosecutor here,” said Tung. “She started as a community organizer. Somebody who built her values around San Francisco. Democratic values that we all hold dear. And as you can see in this election, those values are at stake more than ever — values around reproductive health [and] values around voting rights.”

Others pointed out that Harris’ entry to the race has helped secure a boatload of money for Democratic coffers. ActBlue, which raises money for left-leaning causes, reported last night that it had raised nearly $50 million in a single day after Biden’s exit.

Patti Morse, who is helping with Breed’s reelection campaign, stood waiting for the City Hall event to start while watching Harris’ live speech in Washington — the vice president’s first major appearance since Biden’s exit from the race.

Morse said she was “excited” about the prospects of a Harris candidacy but worried about the search for a vice president.

“Somebody in my building said [Vermont Sen.] Bernie Sanders,” Morse said with a laugh, noting that the party will likely pick someone from a swing state, such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Harris is expected to lean on a network of tech-affiliated donors she has relied on in past local and state elections. The vice president will also likely present herself as a defender of Democratic Party causes like abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights — issues she has brought up in previous Bay Area donor gatherings.

Venture capitalist Ron Conway, a major donor with ties to Silicon Valley, said Monday afternoon he was standing with Harris.

“The tech community must come together to defeat Donald Trump and save our democracy by uniting behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President,” said Conway. “I have known Kamala for decades, and she’s been a fighter, a leader, and an advocate for the tech ecosystem since the day we met. She is the best choice to defeat Donald Trump and she has my unwavering support.”

Stacy Mason, who leads the group Electing Women Bay Area, told The Standard late Sunday night that she “enthusiastically” supports Harris. Mason participated in a fundraiser in June when Harris appeared in the Mission District.

“She is ready for this,” Mason wrote in an email. “And we are ready for it.”