'A historic moment': Vermont delegates endorse Kamala Harris for president

Vermont's 16 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention voted unanimously to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president, according to a statement released by the Vermont Democratic Party.

The delegation's announcement on Monday came just a day after President Joe Biden, who had been the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, dropped out of the race and backed Harris as his replacement. Since then, Harris has secured enough delegates − including Vermont's own − to clinch the Democratic nomination.

The official nomination is scheduled to take place at the Democratic National Convention starting Aug. 19 in Chicago.

"Our phones have been ringing off the hook with a record number of people signing up to volunteer to elect Democrats up and down the ticket in November," said Vermont Democrat Party Chair David Glidden in the party's press release. "I'm proud to be part of such a historic moment."

Vermont's pledged delegates − who were picked in May and June by prominent state Democrats − made their endorsement decision during an unofficial online meeting. Despite throwing their support behind Harris, the delegates are not bound to a specific candidate now that Biden, who won the March primary, is out of the race.

Ten other delegates from Vermont will also attend the August convention, including eight automatic delegates − also known as superdelegates or unpledged delegates − and two alternate delegates. Automatic delegates, which consist of influential Democrats like members of Congress or party leaders, serve as tiebreakers should voting continue past the first round.

Welch, Pieciak, Balint endorse Harris, while Sanders holds off

In addition to the DNC's 16 pledged delegates this year, several other big names in Vermont politics have also endorsed Harris for president since Biden dropped out on Sunday, July 21.

Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. − one of the few major politicians in the Green Mountain State to call for Biden to step down − is among the most recent Vermonters to lend support to Harris. Welch initially neglected to endorse Harris, instead advocating for the party to consider all potential options for a new nominee, but changed his position on Tuesday morning after Harris earned the favor of most of the country's Democratic delegates.

"There is no candidate better equipped to take on Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans and protect our democracy, to advance the Biden agenda, and help strengthen our communities in Vermont − and across America," Welch said in his endorsement statement, lauding Harris's background as a prosecutor and her support for reproductive freedom and "hardworking families."

"She has reinvigorated this campaign," Welch added.

Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, D-Vt., endorsed Harris late Monday afternoon, describing her in a statement as having been "an invaluable partner to the President."

"Her leadership has helped create millions of good-paying jobs, lowered healthcare costs for seniors, and delivered the most robust climate agenda in U.S history," Pieciak said. "I trust Kamala Harris to finish the job."

Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., was the first major Vermont politician to throw her support behind the U.S vice president. Following Biden's announcement on Sunday, Balint wrote on X that "it’s time for all of us to get to work and secure @KamalaHarris in the White House."

Of Vermont's three members of Congress, only Sen. Bernie Sanders has yet to officially endorse Harris for president, though he told CNN on Monday evening that "I will do everything I can to make sure that Trump is defeated and that she is elected." Sanders, an independent, has twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination.

Although Sanders told CNN he expects to lend his official support to Harris eventually, he said he is holding off his endorsement until he knows for certain that Harris "will stand up strongly with an agenda that speaks to the long neglected needs of working families."

Balint, Welch and Sanders are all automatic delegates.

Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.