Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the two top Democrats in Congress, on Monday stopped short of endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, praising her for following party rules in seeking to claim the nomination.
“Vice President Kamala Harris is off to a great start with her promise to pursue the presidential nomination in a manner consistent with the grass roots and transparent process set forth by the Democratic National Committee,” the two, both of New York, said in a joint statement. “She is rapidly picking up support from grass roots delegates from one end of the country to the other. We look forward to meeting in person with Vice President Harris shortly as we collectively work to unify the Democratic Party and the country.”
The careful statement was notable at a time when Democratic governors, senators, representatives, donors and state party chairs, including Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the influential former speaker were all quickly lining up to enthusiastically back Ms. Harris’s candidacy.
The decision by Mr. Schumer and Mr. Jeffries to remain neutral — at least for now — is driven in part by their belief that for leaders who hold great sway with members of Congress, an endorsement would make Ms. Harris’ nomination look more like a coronation than an organic coalescing of a newly energized party, according to people briefed on their thinking who described it on the condition they not be named. Former President Barack Obama has also not endorsed Ms. Harris.
Still, the decision irked some Democrats who wanted them to get on board, and fast.
“I could be a nice person and say I’m not frustrated by it, but I am,” said Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. “They need to come and get on board.”
Most Democrats are eager to quickly put aside party divisions and dysfunction and unite quickly to work to defeat former President Donald J. Trump. Even without endorsements from top leaders, it is clear where things are trending: Ms. Harris is expected to quickly wrap up the support of the entire Democratic Senate caucus without Mr. Schumer putting his thumb on the scale. In less than 24 hours, there were fewer than 10 Senate Democrats who had yet to back her.
A quick show of support by a group governors who had been cited as potential challengers to Ms. Harris if Mr. Biden exited the race also indicated that Ms. Harri had a clear path to the nomination.
In an interview, Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, who endorsed Mr. Harris on Sunday, said so far it was a competitive process — the vice president was simply winning it easily.
“The fact that the sitting vice president has lots of structural advantages and is performing at a high level is a good thing and not a controversial one,” Mr. Schatz said. “We have no obligation to look silly or display disunity.”
Mr. Schatz said Mr. Biden’s decision to step down and endorse his running mate worked like a lightning bolt online to energize a depressed party.
“I thought that the algorithms didn’t permit people to feel hope anymore,” he said.
Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, said he was all in for Ms. Harris and ready to start contrasting her with Mr. Trump.
“It’s going to be a very, very exciting race — a contrast between the past and the future,” he said. “Donald Trump is yesterday’s chaos. why would we want to go back there?”
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