(NEXSTAR) — Steve Benjamin was on the call with President Joe Biden and other advisors when the president announced he would not seek re-election. In an interview with Nexstar this week from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Benjamin, assistant and senior advisor to President, expressed admiration for Biden’s decision and little surprise that Vice President Kamala Harris has captured the hearts of most of the Democratic party as its presidential nominee.
“I see it as incredible validation of the successes of the Biden-Harris Administration,” Benjamin told Nexstar on Wednesday. “The President’s most important decision was ‘Who indeed would follow him? Who would be his partner?’ He picked Kamala Harris and I believe what we see — it’s excitement about a new generation of leadership.”
Benjamin pointed to the administration’s various accomplishments, including the American Rescue Plan, which he credits with employment growth, small business survival and health aid for Americans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The excitement about the agenda has always been there,” said Benjamin. “But the excitement we’re seeing now is just about what the Vice President represents. We’re talking about someone who has spent her life fighting for the people — literally… I think people are gravitating towards her message and this amazing governor, Tim Walz. Folks are fired up. This pivot: In a month’s time, this convention was re-engineered around this new generation of leadership. As you all can tell, [the energy], it’s electric.”
Benjamin said that the excitement for Harris and Walz has crossed party lines in unexpected but surprising ways.
“I think in the last few days we’ve seen more Republicans on stage than Democrats,” Benjamin told Nexstar. “[The campaign is doing] amazing bipartisan outreach. Talking to Independent voters and Republican voters… I’m talking to people who say, ‘That’s not my Republican party. We need folks to bring us together.'”
Benjamin, 54, previously served as the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, from April 2010 through December 2021. Pres. Biden announced Benjamin’s appointment in February 2023, with Biden calling Benjamin a “longtime public servant” who would “serve our administration and the American public well.”
With just 75 days until Election Day, the Harris-Walz campaign is capitalizing on momentum and pushing into overdrive. Benjamin says in just the last week, the campaign made about 900,000 phone calls and 150,000 door-to-door canvassing visits.
“The outreach all across the country, in all 50 states — this is real,” said Benjamin on Wednesday. “This is real. There are places that were not in play just a few weeks ago that are very much in play now.”