Alabama Democrats say Vice President Kamala Harris can build a winning coalition of women, Black voters, young voters, and independents if the groundswell of support that started Sunday continues and carries her to the party’s nomination for president.

In the immediate aftermath of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race and his endorsement of Harris, Alabama Democrats first paid respects to Biden’s career of public service. Then they talked about the energy that Harris brings to the campaign, as well as the experience that they said will give voters a clear choice against former President Donald Trump in November.

Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, chair of the Alabama legislative Black caucus, said she was sad for Biden because of what she said he has meant for the country.

“I think he is a real, live American hero,” Coleman said. “I think he should be treated as such. He put the love for this country over any personal agenda and what he may have personally wanted for his campaign. And so now we’re moving forward and hopefully the entire party will now unite around Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.”

Coleman, an Alabama delegate for the Democratic National Convention, set for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, said Biden’s confidence in Harris is a strong starting point.

“He would not have selected Vice President Harris as his vice president if he did not feel as if she was ready Day One to be president,” Coleman said. “And I am supporting his endorsement, along with the endorsement of many others across the country. So, I’m excited for her now. Excited for the country.”

Alabama’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention quickly voted unanimously to endorse Harris as the nominee, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and chair of the Alabama delegation announced Monday.

Coleman said she believes a winning coalition for Harris can incorporate the people who galvanized behind Barack Obama during his first campaign for the White House in 2008, a group she was a part of and maintains contacts with. She said those ranks can grow with younger voters and with women who see Harris as their voice. Coleman said Harris can connect with voters who were disinterested in the race because they did not see Biden, or Trump, as relevant to their generation.

“There was a segment of voters who didn’t like either one of the former nominees,” Coleman said. “They felt both of them were too old. And it was a time for a passing of the torch. So young people, definitely are going to be key to making sure that she wins this presidency.”

Coleman said abortion rights can be a powerful issue for Harris.

“You’ve got a coalition of women of all races who want to make sure that women still have the right to make the decisions along with their family and their doctors about what is right for their bodies,” Coleman said.

Trump got 62% of the vote in Alabama in 2016 and again in 2020. Coleman said she hopes more voters will look past party loyalty and consider the policies that she said can help families. She said people should not forget that Alabama’s Republican members of Congress have not supported Biden-backed legislation that has brought billions to Alabama for infrastructure, pandemic relief, and other purposes.

“I think if the electorate actually looked at who has voted for their best interests, it would be the Democratic party,” Coleman said. “I just want folks to understand that. Do not let the Alabama Republicans off the hook for not supporting infrastructure. Make then accountable for that. And reward the party and the folks that have supported growth in the state of Alabama. And that’s the Biden-Harris administration. And now that will be Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket.”

Alabama Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, was a strong supporter of Biden and his policies. But if Harris wins the nomination, Singleton said she will present in some ways a more difficult challenge for the Trump campaign.

“She’s much younger,” Singleton said. “She’s a prosecutor. She can debate. She can hold her own. I think it’s going to spike the women vote, women of color, even women period. Suburban women.

“You’re going to start talking about issues now, real issues, based on reproductive rights, and a woman will be able to carry those issues. That’s an issue that the Republican party has had a problem with since 2020.”

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, a Democratic Party delegate for the DNC, said Harris, as a former district attorney, state attorney general, and U.S. senator, as well as being the current vice president, has credentials that give her a legitimate chance against Trump.

“President Trump is extraordinarily popular in Alabama and many other places in the country,” Siegelman said. “And I would say at this point former President Trump is ahead.

“But I do think that Kamala Harris brings a lot to this election. I think people throughout the country are really tired of the back and forth, the bickering and the attacks. Not to say that that is going to stop because she is a candidate. But I do think because she is both civil and couth and carries herself with dignity, I think it should have something of a calming effect on this campaign or the rhetoric in the campaign.”

Siegelman said Harris is a role model who can attract mothers and other women voters. He said she has shown she understands the threat of climate change, the importance of education, the role of the free press in protecting democracy, and criminal justice reform.

“I do think she will excite the Democratic base just as President Trump has excited the Republican base,” Siegelman said. “It will be a hard-fought contest. But she has some attributes that I think helps put her in a position where she can encourage more independents to vote for her than Donald Trump. I think she has issues on her side, which puts her in a position to attract more women to her than Donald Trump.”

Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, a Democratic delegate and attorney, said Harris carries all the essentials to make a strong case to voters against Trump.

“She’s just as qualified as any male, white or black,” Givan said. “She’s one of the most intelligent, brilliant minds in the United States. Former attorney general of California. Former U.S. senator. And even in the course of the last few weeks she’s really stepped up to try to keep the Democratic Party stitched together.”

Givan said she believes Harris can win, although she said she had no illusions about what she expects to be a vicious campaign.

“He is beatable,” Givan said. “You’ve got these crazy, extreme, MAGA folks out here who believe that Donald Trump is now that man who has been reincarnated from the heavens above because he did not die two weeks ago.

“Listen, I do not condone violence of any sort. I am thankful that the former president lived. It doesn’t matter my party affiliation or not.

“But on the other side of that, they’re going to go hard in the paint at Kamala Harris. They’re going to paint her as an angry, Black woman. They’re going to paint her as being less intelligent than others. They’re going to paint her with as broad of a brush to demean and destroy her character. To me that’s never OK to do to any woman. And certainly, not a Black woman.”

Givan said she believes the Black vote, particularly Black women, will turn out strong for Harris. She said key factors will be motivating white women and young voters to support her.

“She’s got to give young people something to hope for,” Givan said. “They’re not just going to go vote just because you say vote. They’re going to go vote when you give them a belief that something can be greater, or some change is going to come. When you do that, young people show up.”

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, who is not a DNC delegate, said he looked forward to supporting the nominee and said he had great respect for Biden and his endorsement of Harris. If Harris sustains her momentum and secures the nomination, Daniels said Democrats have got to rally behind her with no reservations.

“I think the Democratic Party in general has allowed the other side, the talking heads, to dictate how they feel about their own candidates,” Daniels said. “And I’ve said this a number of times. The thing that I respect about Republicans is that they fall in line. And the things that I’ve been very concerned about with the Democrats is that they have to fall in love with the candidate.

“We have to coalesce around our candidate just like the Republicans have to coalesce around their candidate. And so, that’s one of the things I hope that the Democrats learn, is that our person is our person. And let’s figure out a way to help our person get elected.”