A bit behind his peers, but he got there.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for U.S. president.
“Her tough-but-smart-on-crime history assures me she is committed to public safety,” Whitmire wrote in a Thursday post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “She will be the partner I need to improve infrastructure and help Houston recover from recent disasters. We will drive Houston forward and ensure a brighter future for all Americans.”
Harris emerged as the Democratic party’s pick for the candidacy following President Joe Biden’s exit from the race July 21. Harris has been endorsed by Biden and other prominent figures in local politics like Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
Whitmire took heat after his name did not appear on a list of U.S. mayors who said they were endorsing Harris for president days after Biden left the race.
There were definitely people who noticed that the aforementioned list of Mayors did not include Whitmire. With Vice President Harris in Houston for multiple events this past week, it would have been weird if he hadn’t taken action. In the grand scheme of things this isn’t a big deal – I can’t believe endorsement, or just about any endorsement for that matter, swings more than a handful of votes – but that’s not really the point. The point is that this is an election about democracy itself (among many other things) and no one gets to be a bystander. Welcome aboard, Mayor Whitmire.
Poor Whitmire. Counting up the losses of campaign cash from his GOP besties after being forced into the endorsement of a Democrat.