CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Thirty uncommitted delegates at the Democratic National Convention say they are waiting to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris’ team on a meeting regarding the war in Gaza, and hope to have a sit-down before the close of the convention this week.
The group requested a sit down with the vice president over what they say is shared concern over U.S. tax dollars being used to fund violence in Gaza. So far, the campaign has not committed, a spokesperson for the national movement told NewsNation.
However, the Harris campaign’s response to the group’s demands has been “way different” and “positive” compared to President Joe Biden’s campaign, the spokesperson said.
Michael Berg, an uncommitted delegate from Missouri, said that the uncommitted movement and those who feel strongly about the violence in Gaza could be the “razor-thin margin” Harris may need to overtake former President Donald Trump.
“We are the majority of the Democratic Party,” he said. “The position of ceasefire is the majority of the American people and generally among fellow delegates.”
“We want Harris to do the right thing, both electorally and morally, to support the children of Gaza,” Berg also said.
Dozens of uncommitted delegates wearing Palestinian keffiyehs and “no more bomb” pins have been attending the convention in Chicago this week.
The uncommitted delegates want the Harris campaign to include an immediate ceasefire and arms embargo in her platform before they can commit to her.
Many of the delegates say they have been having largely positive conversations with Harris delegates but some say they have felt some “pressure” to join the larger delegation.
“The majority of Harris delegates are deeply sympathetic,” Daniel Denvir, an alternate uncommitted delegate from Rhode Island, said.
“There’s obviously an emphasis from some in Democratic Party leadership to get in line and beat Trump and we agree that beating Trump is important, but we also believe that stopping a genocide is just a fundamental moral question, perhaps the fundamental moral question of our time,” he also said.
Protests have erupted across the country by those opposing the war, which also includes movements instructing voters to hold their vote in protest.
More than 700,000 Democrats voted against Biden when he was running by choosing options such as “uncommitted,” with others protesting in other states through write-ins, blank ballots, votes for other candidates and other means.
Some of the delegates say they were happy to see Biden step down from the election and while they see more potential movement with Harris on Gaza, they remain “cautiously optimistic”
“I think it’s very clear that President Biden was a liability to the Democratic Party, and in part because of his policy on Gaza,” Yaz Kader, an uncommitted delegate from Washington state, said.
Kader says Harris provides the uncommitted delegates with some “cautious optimism” but they’re not throwing their support behind her just yet.
“We still don’t know where she sits on this because she hasn’t outwardly said anything,” Kader said. “ If I were to say anything to her, what I would really want to know is, where are you different from President Biden? That is what we really need to know.”
