Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Jaime Harrison lamented that he was "taken for granted" as a party leader and was seen as a "rubber-stamp" throughout the 2024 campaign, as Democrats continue to determine a way forward after their loss to President Donald Trump in November.
"I feel like, as chair, my voice was not always heard, that I was taken for granted. I was seen as somebody to just rubber-stamp and not to actually have a seat at the table to influence certain things," Harrison told the Washington Post at South Carolina's Democratic convention on Saturday. "And that has to change."
"We can’t just be nice ornaments," Harrison said, telling the Post that he was angry over the election and over Black voters' voting for Trump or choosing to stay home. "We actually have to have a substantive and real role in terms of directing this party and moving this party forward."
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Jaime R. Harrison, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, speaks onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. ((Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images))
Harrison stood by former President Joe Biden as he faced attacks on his age prior to exiting the 2024 race.
The former DNC chair said in January that the party should have stuck with Biden rather than forcing him off the ticket.
After former Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Trump in November, Sen. Bernie Sanders accused the Democratic Party of abandoning the working class.
Harrison strongly disagreed with the suggestion and responded to Sanders on social media, calling it "straight up BS."
"Biden was the most-pro worker President of my lifetime - saved union pensions, created millions of good paying jobs and even marched in a picket line and some of MVP’s plans would have fundamentally transformed the quality of life and closed the racial wealth gap for working people across this country," Harrison wrote in November, after the election.
"From the child tax credits, to 25k for a down payment for a house, to Medicare covering the cost of senior health care in their homes. There are a lot of post-election takes and this one ain’t a good one," he concluded.
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Harrison argued the Democratic Party should have stood by former President Biden running for re-election in 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Other prominent Black Democrats, including Catherine Fleming Bruce, who is running for Senate in South Carolina, expressed frustration to the Washington Post that there wasn't an open process to replace Biden on the ticket.
She told the Post that Democrats should be "making sure that we have Democratic processes at all times."
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told the outlet that the party had a problem with only focusing on Black voters in election years.
"It’s tiring," he said.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain told the Post that the party didn't prioritize Black voters, a key voting bloc for the party, in 2024.
"We can’t lose our most dependable base because we’re chasing rainbows," she told the outlet. "You’ve gotta know where your bread is buttered. Invest there."