President Joe Biden stepped aside from his campaign for president, leaving current Vice President Kamala Harris as the presumptive nominee. We asked the chairs of the county Republican and Democratic committees how this move impacts the election on the national and local levels.

Yesterday, we posted the questions and answers from the Saline County Republican Committee. Today we focus on the Democratic Party of Saline County.

In his response, Bailey says, “There are certain questions that are a bit out of my scope to address, but I will do my best to at least convey my sentiment regarding the circumstances at-large.” We have listed each of the questions asked along with the parts of his statement verbatim that matched the questions. In the interest of fairness, this listing format is the same as we did for the local Republican side of the story.

What are your thoughts regarding President Biden dropping out of the race?
“As a county party, we echo the statement of the Democratic Party of Arkansas in that we are proud of President Joe Biden for his steadfast leadership and historic accomplishments as our President for the past four years. We’re grateful for the work he’s done and for the billions in investments that have come to Arkansas a result of his administration.“

What about Speaker Johnson stating that there could be lawsuits filed in states regarding the legality of VP Harris being placed on the ballot in Biden’s place?

What are your thoughts on those who call for Biden to resign as president by saying if he isn’t fit to run for the office, he isn’t fit to hold it?

Does this change the campaign on a local level?
“All in all, I don’t believe that these recent national events will have a substantive impact on any of our local candidates or our ongoing efforts to promote positive change across Saline County. Our local candidates are running on issues like flood mitigation, renters’ rights, infrastructure improvements, library support, road repair, etc., and the impacts of those issues are felt far more prominently in the day to day lives of Saline County residents. The fact is, major issues in Saline County have gone unaddressed or been neglected for a number of years in favor of grandstanding and culture wars, and folks we’ve spoken to all across Saline County have shown us repeatedly that there is a desperate need for better representation at the local level. We fully believe that our incredible slate of candidates for Justice of the Peace and State Legislature here in Saline County represent just that.”

How do you see the potential change to Harris for president as it relates to her viability versus former President Trump?
“We’re also proud of our state delegation to the Democratic National Convention for unanimously endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for President, and we agree with their recent statement that Vice President Harris is the best prepared candidate to take on Donald Trump in the general election, a statement which is reflected in the overwhelming show of support for her candidacy in the hours following President Biden’s announcement.”

Do you think this will change the willingness to participate in the scheduled upcoming debate between the two top candidates for president?

Do you have any additional comments/quotes you would like to add?