California Democrats at the party’s state convention Saturday in San Jose voted to endorse state Attorney General Kamala Harris in her campaign for the United States Senate.
Karris is vying to replace outgoing Democrat Barbara Boxer, who is retiring.
Harris garnered 78.1 percent of delegates, over and above the 60 percent threshold she needed, and far outdistancing her rival, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez of Orange County, who received 19.3 percent of the vote, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Sanchez knew the uphill battle she had to fight, commenting, “It’s all about the insiders. We knew this from the beginning. Getting into the race was not going to be easy, because the insiders already chose who would be the next senator.”
Harris celebrated her victory by asserting, “I’m incredibly honored to have the endorsement of the California Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate race, and I’m so proud of the support our campaign has received from every corner of our state. We know there is more that unites us than divides us, and I’m grateful to the Californians who joined together to send that message this weekend.”
Sanchez spokesman Luis Vizcaino pointed out that the vote would not deter Sanchez from competing against Harris in the June 7 primary. Sanchez herself pointed out that she did not have the party’s endorsement when she defeated Orange County’s Rep. Robert Dornan in her first run for Congress in 1996.
Harris took the opportunity while at the convention to slam GOP presidential candidates, telling the convention’s union caucus mockingly, “Have you ever seen such a bleep show in your entire life?”, the Contra Costa Times reported. She was echoed by Vice President Joe Biden, who intoned, “They haven’t changed at all folks, they’ve just gotten meaner,” according to ABC 7.
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