ST. LOUIS — Several St. Louis-area delegates heading to the Democratic National Convention next month are reacting as their previous nominee, President Joe Biden, steps away from his campaign.
All of the Missouri delegates were prepared to back Biden and they are still talking about his legacy. But now, they told 5 On Your Side it's time to shift and unite around whoever the official nominee is.
Missouri delegates said Sunday that Biden has done a tremendous job as president.
“He has gotten infrastructure passed, he's gotten climate change passed, he brought us out of the pandemic successfully. We've had longest job growth in history of the country in over 50 years,” St. Louis County Democratic Central Committee Chair Chair Nelson Mitten said.
Ward 6 Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez said Biden has been one of the most productive presidents.
“He's actually doing a selfless act on behalf of the American people,” Velazquez said.
But now, their eyes are locked in on what's next.
According to convention rules, a new Democratic nominee could be selected beforehand by virtual vote or it could be an open convention and actually be decided on the world stage.
State Sen. Doug Beck (D-St. Louis County) is headed to the DNC for the first time as a delegate.
“I think it needs to be as open and as transparent as possible as we go forward. I know the president has endorsed Vice President Harris. But at the end of the day, I'm going to be listening to voters of Missouri and to what the democrats want,” Beck said.
Velazquez said she would support Harris if she's selected but stressed focusing on a common goal that hasn't changed.
“Our focus is really on defeating Republicans and defeating Trump. We know what that looks like. We saw what it looked like in 2016. And based on his comments at the RNC, it's going to be 10 times worse we’ll have Muslim bans, there was mass deportation,” Velazquez said.
Mitten said now is the time for Democrats to unite.
“Policies don't change. I think Democrats support the same things. We are going to move forward on those. And I believe there will be plenty of time to bring the party together,” Mitten said.
All three delegates will be headed to the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19- 22 in Chicago.