ELK CREEK, Mo. — Bela Holzer is 19, and she has been drawn to the world of politics for a while already. A month from now, she will find herself attending a historic Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“I was excited to be going anyway,” she remarked. “Now, with Biden stepping aside I’m even more excited.”
She was referring to the announcement made by President Joe Biden on Sunday. In that announcement, Biden said he would not seek re-election in 2024, and he later released a statement officially endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement on the Democratic ticket.
Holzer, of Elk Creek, will be attending the Democrat convention as an at large delegate. She is confident this convention will go better than the last one held in Chicago, where a sitting president stepped aside.
Former President Lyndon Johnson announced at the end of March 1968 that he would not seek reelection. The subsequent convention in Chicago was met with riots and confusion due to outside protests over the Vietnam War, while delegates decided on their candidate inside.
There have been multiple other presidents who decided not to seek reelection to another term, but none have made the decision so far along in the process as Biden.
“I know there is a good deal of historical significance with this situation,” Holzer remarked. “And I’m thrilled I am going to be a part of it.”
Though she is only 19, Holzer said she has been enamored with politics ever since her mother ran for a local office and she helped run the campaign.
“I really like politics and everything that goes with it,” Holzer explained. “But I’m more attracted to the behind the scenes stuff.”
Holzer said she is even more excited to exercise her delegate status by selecting Harris to be the official Democratic nominee.
“Not only could we have a woman president, but it could be a woman of color as well. We could be making history,” Holzer noted. “I love what Kamala stands for and her policies. And I have thought she would be a great candidate all this time; so to see it happening is just that much more exciting.”
Holzer said she doesn’t anticipate much push-back from many delegates moving toward Harris.
“From what I have seen and heard already, there is a lot of support for her, and millions of dollars were raised for her campaign within just a few hours,” Holzer said. “I’m sure there will be a few who object, but I think the Democratic Party will be united with this.”
According to federal election laws, in addition to the money that has been, and will be raised specifically for Harris — as Biden’s running mate, Harris will have access to the campaign fund war-chest that Biden built up to more than $100 million.
“I honestly think this is the best-case scenario for the election right now,” Holzer stated. “And I am definitely going to back Kamala all the way.”
Holzer said she also hopes to see more citizens from her generation get involved with the election.
“When I worked the primary here in Texas County, it was mostly older men and I was the only young woman,” she noted. “And I think that if more from my generation and the millennial generation would vote and get involved, we could actually change some things.”
The Democratic National Convention will run from Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.