LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the days following President Joe Biden’s decision not to run for reelection, some Democrats said they're feeling re-energized in their fight to keep the White House blue. 

What You Need To Know

  • Kamala Harris has gained enough delegate support to secure the Democratic presidential nomination

  • For young Democrats in Louisville, this change at the top of the ticket is re-energizing its base

  • It has also translated into more volunteer inquires and donations to Democratic organizations in Louisville 

  • This mirrors support for Harris nationwide by Democrats 

Kentucky Young Democrats President Allison Wiseman has welcomed the new presumptive nominee of Vice President Kamala Harris. 

“It's really exciting to see how much the Democratic base has come together in the past 24-ish hours, 48 maybe, depending on how far back we want to go,” Wiseman said.

Wiseman said she thinks Harris becoming the nominee has helped breathe new life into the election, especially for young voters.

“I’m seeing a real new wave of excitement, and for young Dems specifically, we're excited to continue doing the work to help make sure the top of the ticket gets elected, but as well as our down-ballot candidates as well,” Wiseman said.

Logan Gatti, chair of Louisville’s Democratic Party, said he agrees. 

“Young people have to get out to vote for Vice President Harris in order for us to win,” he said.

Gatti added locally, there has been an influx of political donations, mirroring the support Harris is seeing nationally. 

“I’ll just say that the Louisville Democratic Party has seen roughly a 50-fold increase in requests to help volunteer for the party, which is fantastic,” Gatti said.

Gatti said the party’s focus heading into November will be on encouraging people to vote for Harris and the down-ballot Democrats. He hopes to also increase voter participation among young voters for this election and those who will come after.  

“I think now that we've really seen some stability, that we've answered some of these pressing questions that everyone's been talking about for the last two or three weeks, there's a path forward, there's a direction now and people are ready to get on that trail and get people engaged and involved in the process,” Gatti said.

Both Gatti and Wiseman are Democrat delegates for Kentucky who will travel to Chicago Aug. 19-22 for the Democratic National Convention. The two said they're excited to see Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., floated as a possible running mate and will support whomever is chosen.

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