Montana News
Montana delegates say they support Harris as their presidential candidate
Delegates elected to represent Montana at the National Democratic Convention say they support Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential candidate. MTPR Shaley Rager reports. 20 elected delegates said Wednesday they are proud to endorse Harris to be the Democratic nominee. The vice president is the presumptive front-runner. Around 4,700 delegates around the country will begin casting votes virtually on Thursday. Voting will conclude Monday ahead of the National Party's Convention in Chicago in a few weeks. John Sasso, a former Montana State legislator and chair of the delegation, said Democrats are energized by Harris' candidacy. "I think she gave us all a reason to start punching and working hard to win this election in November." The group of 20 delegates in agreement does not include Montana's five automatic delegates. Those are representatives who hold elected positions in the party, including U.S. Senator John Tester, the lone statewide Democrat in Montana. Tester faces a competitive re-election race against Republican Tim Shihi. Tester says he supports an open nomination process the other automatic delegates have not said where they stand. Democrat Ryan Bussey, who's running for governor, declined to say whether he supports Harris because he doesn't want to get ahead of the delegates voting. However, he said he's glad to see women voters energized around the vice president. In Helena, I'm Shae Lee Raeger.