Minnesota delegates react to Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race

CATHY WURZER: Minnesota's Democratic National Convention delegates are reacting, as you might expect, to President Biden's decision to step out of the presidential race. When the news broke yesterday, MPR reached out to all 93 delegates. So far, 50, more than half, say they want Vice President Kamala Harris atop the Democratic ticket.

FRANK SACHS: I think this is going to release a tremendous amount of positive energy from Democrats. And I do think we'll see it on display at the convention. I'm, all of a sudden, really excited to go, because this is history.

CHERYL POLING: It's a very sad moment, to be quite honest. President Biden has been an amazing president. He has a fabulous track record and has done a lot for our country and for our economy. He's reestablished our place in the world and built back those relationships with countries that had been destroyed under the Trump administration. This is a very sad time for us, but it's also very hopeful, looking forward with the leadership of Vice President Harris.

JAMES REED: My intention-- and I think this is going to be true for the vast majority of delegates-- we are going to unify around whoever gets the majority of votes at the convention. And I do not believe this is going to be a divided party. I think everyone understands there is so much at stake.

CATHY WURZER: That was James Reed-- before that, Cheryl Poling and Frank Sachs-- three of Minnesota's delegates heading to the Democratic National Convention next month in Chicago. 14 of the delegates we reached out to said they were not sure who they wanted atop the ticket, or they refused to say.

So Vice President Harris has strong backing from Minnesota's delegation to receive the nomination at the DNC. That is where the party's nominee will be picked following President Biden's exit from the race. Senior politics reporter Clay Masters for MPR is here to talk about reaction from the Minnesota delegation. Hi, Clay.

CLAY MASTERS: Good afternoon.

CATHY WURZER: Well, this is a fast-moving story. What is the latest?

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah, as you mentioned, MPR News attempted to contact the full convention delegation within hours of Biden's decision to both step away from his re-election bid and, of course, his endorsement of Vice President Harris as a potential replacement. As of this morning, we've heard back from 2/3 of them, and they are largely falling in line with Harris. Some Democratic pillars are now in her corner, including who you just talked to, Governor Tim Walz.

And Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan added their support today. Both US senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith have said they're for VP Harris. All but one of the Democratic House delegation for the US here in Minnesota has also said they're going to back Harris. Dean Phillips-- of course, ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination against Biden-- he's saying positive things about Harris, but is calling for a mini primary of sorts.

And there are a lot more delegates who are calling for-- that are not in these powerful elected positions, and they're falling behind Kamala Harris. And Minnesota Democrats are sending 93 delegates to Chicago for this first convention in recent memory where the outcome is somewhat in question.

CATHY WURZER: Mm-hmm. So I know that you did a lot of work yesterday. Can you tell us the mood from these delegates that you've talked to?

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah, the delegates I've talked to have a combination of kind of sadness and excitement. All the delegates I spoke to told me they appreciated President Biden's leadership. Some said they think that he made the right choice to drop out and see an opportunity for a new candidate. And they're quickly pivoting to this new potential match-up between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

We spoke just a bit ago with delegate Denise Specht, who leads Minnesota's Teachers' Union. She says yesterday's announcement by Biden was emotional for her because she admires him and his work. But now she says it's important for the party to get down to work to elect Harris.

DENISE SPECHT: I think it's really important to unite right away. We've got a limited amount of time, but it's also enough time to get energized and get together. So sooner than later, every day counts. And we need to get a strong united message, especially going into the convention.

CLAY MASTERS: And Cathy, she and other delegates told us they think the convention will be a galvanizing moment for a party that had been a bit dejected in recent weeks.

CATHY WURZER: Say, speaking of delegates, of course, Minnesota is sending the most uncommitted delegates of any state in the country at-- what, 11--

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah.

CATHY WURZER: --to the national convention next month. What are those delegates saying?

CLAY MASTERS: Well, I'd say they've kind of got a mixture of optimism combined with a great deal of responsibility. Biden's policies on the Israel-Hamas war seemed like one of the greatest challenges to Biden's campaign before that poor debate performance against Donald Trump last month. Long before the debate, protest votes really started in Michigan back in February, when voters organized and made their opposition known on their primary ballots.

And then there was momentum to other states, like here in Minnesota. Nearly 19% of Democratic voters in Minnesota chose uncommitted. The uncommitted delegates say they're open to Harris, but they're not saying one way or the other. They don't want this to be an anointment.

They want an open convention, one telling me they're fine with Harris being one of the candidates the delegates hear from and see what kind of strategy she presents on the Middle East. Here's another uncommitted delegate, Hassan Saffouri, from Minnesota. He summed things up this way.

HASSAN SAFFOURI: The reality was Joe Biden was going to become the nominee regardless of what we did and how we did it. We were just going to be able to raise some issues and bring them to people's attention. That part has now become more important and may become more easily done by the uncommitted delegations.

CLAY MASTERS: But now, Biden is not in the race, and they were choosing uncommitted meant that they could not commit to President Biden. And they're quick to point out they don't want another Trump presidency.

CATHY WURZER: So, Clay, the state of Minnesota has had a very long track record of going with the Democratic presidential candidate. So since the president, President Biden, has dropped out of the race, might that change?

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah, I mean, polls have remained pretty close here when they've seen a Biden and Trump match up in those. And you're right, Minnesota hasn't gone to a Republican presidential candidate for half a century.

The Trump campaign has hired two top staffers in Minnesota, and they have plans to open eight field offices in the state. You add to that Ohio US Senator JD Vance will be here for a fundraiser this weekend, and that's coming fresh off his acceptance of the Republican vice presidential nomination. So Republicans see an opportunity to take the momentum from their convention to a state where it could be an uphill battle to win.

Meanwhile, a significant Democratic voting bloc in the state has shown they're concerned about the war in Gaza. And they'll be listening even more closely to what Vice President Harris has to say on this issue now.

CATHY WURZER: So, you obviously heard my chat with Governor Tim Walz. It kind of sounds like he didn't rule out--

CLAY MASTERS: He didn't rule it out. Yeah.

CATHY WURZER: --of being in a VP role, perhaps.

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah, no, he didn't. And no one is out there formally, at least, publicly campaigning for that post. If you talk to Walz's allies, they point out that he's from the Midwest, a crucial campaign battleground. He's got a long military service record, which he talked about. So that kind of neutralizes JD Vance's Marine's background there. He's overseen a string of progressive policy victories, as he mentioned in that interview with you in the past couple of years.

Also, we need to think about the other names that are being floated out there that might be a little more rising to the top. I'm talking about Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. That's a must-win swing state. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper-- some politicos think that state could be in play.

And another name floated out there, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democratic governor in a red state. We also heard Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. We didn't hear her, but she took to X this morning, formerly Twitter, to say that she's endorsing Harris and kind of hinted at wanting to stay in Michigan, I mean, at least for now.

CATHY WURZER: So we're going to send you to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month. That'll be interesting.

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah, it will. I mean, I'll be paying attention to what your last guest is doing, obviously, as a reporter here. But Governor Walz is a co-chair of the Rules Committee, as you mentioned, at the DNC. And the Democratic National Convention, they're going to be moving forward with the process to formally nominate a presidential candidate on Wednesday. We're seeing reports that's when one of its committees meets in public and ongoing efforts to set up a virtual roll call vote ahead of the convention.

CATHY WURZER: OK, Clay, thank you so much.

CLAY MASTERS: Yeah, thank you, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Clay Masters is MPR's senior politics reporter.