By Leonard E. Colvin
Chief Reporter Emeritus
New Journal and Guide
Virginia Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan is the first Black woman to represent Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“There is an enthusiasm I haven’t seen since at least 2008, and I think it may even be bigger than that,” McClellan said during a TV interview.
“I was on a call with over 40,000 Black women … that raised over a million dollars (initially),” McClellan said, adding many people are reaching out asking how they can get involved with the Harris campaign.
“There is excitement, a real shot in the arm, and we will ride that wave to victory in November.”
On Sunday, July 21, President Joseph R. Biden “passed on the torch” to Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the Democratic party in its fight to defeat Donald Trump in this year’s General Election.
If she wins, Harris will be the first woman and first female of African, Asian, and Indian descent to be elected President of the United States.
Before becoming Vice President, Harris, a graduate of Howard University, was a Prosecuting Attorney in San Francisco, California Attorney General, and U.S. Senator from that state. She was then selected by Biden to be his Vice President.
“The only person best situated to build on Biden’s record and defeat Trump is our Vice President Kamala Harris.
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She is ready to serve and will make a great president. Let’s get to work!” said Congressman Robert “Bobby” Scott hours after Biden withdrew from the race.
“I believe Vice President Harris has the experience, energy, and resolve to lead our nation and defeat Donald Trump and his backward agenda,” wrote Virginia’s Senior Senator Mark Warner in a fundraising email for Vice President Harris.
“I will do everything in my power to deliver Virginia for Vice President Harris,” state House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, said in a statement. “Just as we did last year when we flipped the House of Delegates, we will also reject the MAGA extremist Project 2025 agenda. We will win Virginia again, and elect the first woman President in the history of the United States.”
Gaylene Kanoyton
In chorus with conservative media, Trump and his Vice-Presidential running mate, JD Vance have been referring to the Vice President as a “lying, radical lunatic, who destroys everything she touches and who would ruin America.”
Commentators on Fox News have referred to her as the “DEI” (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) candidate. Republicans have been seeking to demonize the DEI as a hiring token and unqualified Black or female employees at the expense of white men.
Dr. Eric W. Claville is director of the Center for African-American Public Policy (CAAmPP) at Norfolk State University (NSU) and host of the “State of the Water” radio show on the school’s station, WNSB-FM.
“I am not surprised Biden dropped out,” he said. “Twenty-five big donors said ‘no more dough … until no more Joe.’ He was not going anywhere. His own campaign people were saying there was no path to victory for him.”
Gaylene Kanoyton, a party activist who participated in the historic Zoom meeting organized by WinWithBlackWomen, is a participant in the August 7 virtual meeting of DNC delegates representing the Commonwealth.
“The party is excited, and we have a new start, she said. “But we know it was bitter-sweet for the President (Biden), who prioritized country over party. The energy is amazing. Not only Black, but white women, Black and white men, LGBT, Hispanic and even Republicans are supporting her.”
“This reminds me of when President Obama ran,” Kanoytan continued. “People had doubts, I remember. When we went to the convention, it was close between him and Hillary, but people felt there was something new about him the party needed.”
One of the longest-serving members of the Virginia Legislature, State Senator Mamie Locke of Hampton, Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said she was anxious leading up to Biden’s departure and the Vice President’s ascension.
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“I had concerns about Biden’s inner circle and the party’s top leadership,” she said. “They kept talking about Biden leaving, but they have yet to say who they wanted to replace him. We did not hear her (Harris’) name from their mouths. We do now … loud. I am proud of Biden for doing this for the country and not thinking of self … unlike Trump.”
Locke recalls that only twice in recent times has the Democratic party’s nominating process been so chaotic.
Elected in 1964 after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), exited the race in February of 1968. LBJ engineered the passage of civil rights and voting rights legislation, supporting the Civil Rights Movement. But his presidency was crippled by the Vietnam War.
In June, Robert F. Kennedy was running for the nomination until he was killed.
LBJ’s Vice President Hubert Humprey, who did not run in the primary, ran and lost to Republican Richard M. Nixon. Alabama’s pro-segregationist governor, George C. Wallace, ran in that race.
“I think Kamala will go into the DNC in a stronger position. She has Black women; I hope all women and the party are behind her. All Trump has is lies and hate. It won’t work.”
Former State Senator Lionell Spruill lost his reelection bid last year.
Spruill said the Trump camp assumed President Biden would not step aside using his age and his record against him.
“Biden waited until after the Republican convention, I believe, to step down,” said Spruill. “Republicans threw every negative they could find against him. It will be harder against Harris. She can win if white women do not stand against her.”
“She has to define herself,” Spruill continued, “and tell the voters about the policies Democrats support that benefit them.”
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Andre Boykin, 26, who supervises a team of lawn care workers in Chesapeake and Norfolk, describes himself as a Black middle-class male with a wife and two children.
He told the GUIDE he was still determining how to vote in November. However, Harris’s candidacy may have changed his mind after he had heard of the policies she supported.
“A lot of Black men I know were thinking about staying at home,” he said. “Biden was too old, and Trump is Trump. But I think Sister (Harris) has moved my spirit some to support her because she talks about healthcare and education.”
Krista Erin is in a mixed marriage. She is a registered Democrat and her husband is a Republican. He is torn between voting for Trump or staying home in November.
“I am with Kamala,” said Erin, a 51-year-old Licensed Practical Nurse. “I can’t pronounce her name right, but I have been listening to her and reading about her history. They should stop lying about her. She got my vote because of her stand on abortion which is critical for my daughter who is 25, and healthcare for me.”
Harriett E. Barnes, 30, a housewife who homeschools her children, said, “I am concerned about not being able to make decisions about my body, if I can afford health care and protection of civil and voting rights. Trump is not the one for anyone who looks like me and my spouse. I supported the President. But I am sure now with Mrs. Harris. She speaks to me as a Black woman on a lot of issues, especially healthcare.”
Born on August 16, Ray Kwan Butler, 17, will cast his first vote in November.
“I was not for Trump or Biden. I was going to sit this one out. I did not know if he (Biden) was going to make it to November,” said Butler, who has enlisted in the Navy. She (Harris) supports Gay rights, the protection of women, and healthcare. Trump is trying to scare us. She reminds us of what we would lose if he is elected.”
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