BOERNE — In the reliably red Kendall County north of San Antonio, local Democrats saw President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race as an opportunity.
Kendall County Democratic Chair Laura Bray didn’t see it coming at the time. “I was floored just like everybody else was," she said. "But I am glad that decisions been made so we can move forward.”
She also characterized the move as a wise one that will serve the party, rather than a decision made in a panic.
“I think it was the right decision. I think he put country over his personal desires,” she said. “And I think we'll be able to get things together as Democrats and move forward so we can defeat Trump in November.”
In a statement on Monday, the county's Democrats said they "voted to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States."
The statement added: "KCDP recognizes the existential threat Donald Trump poses to the fabric of our democracy. KCDP will work hard to make Vice President Kamala Harris the 47th President of the United States."
Bray said that while this process is awkward and a bit unpredictable, she sees a certain advantage in replacing Biden with Harris — and that advantage lies in the demographic that Biden wasn’t energizing.
“I've been hearing from a lot of young people that just couldn't get into a Biden presidency again. So I think this is a good move to get those voters which are hugely important more involved,” she said.
Bray said the process of getting younger voters engaged is a long one, and one that’s complicated further when the two men at the top of the ticket are long past the age where most people retire.
“There's a lot of people doing a lot of work trying to get that demographic more engaged. And because it is so important, they were running into walls with two octogenarian candidates [who] are trying to convince them that it matters and that they need to get out and vote,” Bray said. “And I think having a younger candidate in VP Harris will help those efforts and help people get more involved.”
She also noted that aside from age, there’s a whole array of issues that should resonate with young voters.
“Common sense gun safety, a woman's right to make her own medical decisions. Democracy is a big one,” she said. “There's a lot of people that are afraid that if Trump and the Republicans are elected, that will just ... destroy democracy.”
She predicted that the next four months will be spent on phones and walking the neighborhoods with a message concentrating not so much on Trump but on Harris and down-ballot candidates.
“There are 16 other contested races in Kendall County, and those are all very important races. The races for the Texas House and the Texas Senate are extremely important because of what may be coming down next year in the Texas Legislature,” Bray said.
She will be a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.
