New Hampshire

VP Harris cites Biden’s ‘legacy of accomplishment’ as endorsements pile up for her bid • New Hampshire Bulletin

Published

2 years ago

July 22, 2024

VP Harris cites Biden’s ‘legacy of accomplishment’ as endorsements pile up for her bid • New Hampshire Bulletin

WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris’ path to the Democratic nomination cleared Monday as she secured endorsements from potential rivals and other high-profile party members the day after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid.

A swarm of Democratic legislative leaders, governors – including some thought to harbor presidential ambitions of their own – and influential unions as well as key outside groups endorsed her within 24 hours of Biden’s unscheduled Sunday afternoon announcement, while no serious challenger emerged.

In Harris’ first public appearance since Biden’s announcement and endorsement of her, the vice president met with college sports champions at the White House. She opened her brief remarks with a tribute to Biden, who, while recovering from COVID-19, was “feeling much better” Monday, she said.

“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” she said. “In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office.”

Harris was also scheduled to travel to the campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, late Monday to meet with campaign staff, according to the White House.

Several key Democrats had not publicly backed her by Monday afternoon. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and former President Barack Obama had not offered endorsements.

Jeffries told reporters that he and Schumer were planning to meet with Harris “shortly.” While Jeffries did not endorse Harris, he said she has “excited the House Democratic Caucus and she’s exciting the country.”

Congressional Dems line up behind Harris

But endorsements rolled in from Capitol Hill.

Top congressional Democrats like the No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and the No. 2 House Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, also early Monday gave Harris their support.

And former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement that she supported Harris and noted her work advocating for reproductive rights – a topic that Democrats have centered various campaigns on following the end of Roe v. Wade.

“Politically, make no mistake,” Pelosi said. “Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute – and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”

The chair of the campaign arm for House Democrats, Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, also gave her support to Harris.

Harris has also earned the backing of all the House Democratic leaders of influential congressional caucuses.

That includes Reps. Steven Horsford of Nevada of the Congressional Black Caucus, Nanette Barragán of California of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Pramila Jayapal of Washington of the Progressive Caucus, and Judy Chu of California of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Obama holds off

Obama did not yet endorse Harris but in a lengthy statement Sunday said he has “extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”

Similarly, in 2020 the former two-term president waited until Biden was formally nominated by the Democratic National Committee before he gave an endorsement.

The DNC will move forward with the process to formally nominate a presidential candidate Wednesday when its Rules Committee meets in a public virtual session amid ongoing efforts to set up a virtual roll call vote ahead of the convention next month in Chicago.

No serious challenger to Harris’ nomination had emerged by Monday afternoon, as independent Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said in a morning MSNBC interview he would not seek the Democratic nomination.

Governors endorse Harris

Following Biden’s endorsement of Harris, several Democratic governors have also offered their support for the vice president, including the governors speculated to be among Harris’ choices for a running mate and would-be rivals for the nomination.

Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Wes Moore of Maryland, and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois all offered their endorsements in the day since Biden withdrew from the race.

Beshear announced his support for Harris in a television interview Monday morning. He wouldn’t say if he’d like to join Harris’ ticket, but said in a statement on X that the vice president will “bring our country together and move us past the anger politics we’ve seen in recent years.”

Other governors around the country also offered their support, including Jared Polis of Colorado, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Laura Kelly of Kansas, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Katie Hobbs of Arizona, Janet Mills of Maine, Jay Inslee of Washington, and Maura Healey of Massachusetts.

Governors from Oregon and Rhode Island, both Democrats, have yet to voice their support for Harris. Both thanked Biden for his service as president on X.

State parties planning next moves

Several state parties endorsed Harris or indicated they would support her.

North Carolina Democrats voted to endorse a ticket of Harris and Cooper, their term-limited governor, NC Newsline reported.

At Beshear’s request, Kentucky Democrats voted “overwhelmingly” to back Harris, the Kentucky Lantern reported.

New Hampshire’s state party coalesced behind Harris at a Sunday evening meeting, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin.

Maine Democrats were scheduled to meet Monday night and are likely to consider a proposal to switch the party’s support from Biden to Harris, the Maine Morning Star said.

Advocacy groups

Several influential Democrat-aligned organizations announced their support for Harris.

Emily’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who favor abortion rights, tweeted its endorsement Sunday.

LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign also backed Harris, noting her early support for marriage equality and other work on LGBTQ issues.

UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights group, also endorsed Harris.

Gen-Z for Change, formerly called TikTok for Biden, had withheld an endorsement of the president over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war in which more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed. But quickly following the announcement from Biden to step out of the race, the organization gave an endorsement to Harris.

The political action committees of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus also backed Harris.

Several unions jump in

Harris has also garnered the backing of several labor unions in the day since announcing her bid for office. The Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million service workers including health care and property and public services, announced its endorsement for Harris Sunday.

In a written statement, SEIU President April Verrett said “SEIU is ALL IN” for Harris and that the vice president “has made sure to use every lever of government to do everything possible to make things better for working people.”

The American Federation of Teachers unanimously endorsed Harris Sunday. AFT represents 1.7 million education professionals across the country, ranging from teachers and paraprofessionals to school health care workers and higher education faculty.

The United Farm Workers also quickly switched its support from Biden to Harris on Sunday afternoon. The union said it “could not be prouder to endorse her for President of the United States,” in a written statement, citing her support of farm workers during her time as an attorney general and senator in California.

SEIU, AFT, and UFW all endorsed Biden for president in 2020 and this year prior to his withdrawal from the race.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has not endorsed in the presidential race, but invited Harris to a roundtable with rank-and-file members. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien addressed the Republican National Convention last week. The union endorsed Biden in 2020 but had not voiced its support for his reelection this year.

Notably, the UAW has not announced an endorsement for Harris. Biden walked the picket line in Michigan during the historic autoworker protests last September. The UAW thanked Biden for his service in a statement Sunday.

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New Hampshire

SEE THE GOOD: New Hampshire teens jump in to fix broken car wash equipment – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Published

10 hours ago

May 27, 2026

Press Room

SEE THE GOOD: New Hampshire teens jump in to fix broken car wash equipment – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

HUDSON, N.H. (WHDH) – R.J. Zangri, and Landon Morris jumped in to help a car wash when they noticed equipment was broken.

The E&M’s Family Car Wash in Hudson shared surveillance photos on social media showing the two teens fixing a foam brush that got ripped off the line.

The two young men and the car wash owner said they hope this inspires other small acts of kindness.

“We were just there and it was broken so it was just the right thing to do at the time was just fix it,” Zangri said.

“I hope people look at this story and feel inspired to do something like that,” Morris said. “What took us thirty seconds is now blowing up.”

Lucas Croteau, owner of the car wash, thanked the young men in person this week and gave them a tour of the business.

“Doing an act of kindness isn’t just a small act, it can have a large ripple effect,” Croteau said.

Morris said he hopes to one day work in the car wash business.

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire Democrats prepare to make case for first-in-nation primary to DNC

Published

22 hours ago

May 26, 2026

Press Room

New Hampshire Democrats prepare to make case for first-in-nation primary to DNC

New Hampshire Democrats are putting the finishing touches on the case they plan to make to the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee as they try to restore the state’s traditional first-in-the-nation primary spot on the party’s calendar.

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New Hampshire

From circus clown to Army Night Stalker: Stratham veteran finds new purpose in NH

Published

1 day ago

May 26, 2026

Press Room

From circus clown to Army Night Stalker: Stratham veteran finds new purpose in NH

Angeljean Chiaramida
| news@seacoastonline.com

HAMPTON — When Army veteran Kyle Saltonstall stepped to the podium at Hampton’s American Legion Post 35 Memorial Day ceremonies on May 25, the crowd met a speaker whose path to service has been anything but ordinary.

Saltonstall, 44, spent years with the Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment — the “Night Stalkers” — but that’s only one chapter in a life marked by adventure, reinvention and a steady pull toward service.

“He’s quite an interesting guy,” said Berk Bennett, commander of Post 35. “And a great speaker.”

Raised on a Marine Corps air station in southern Arizona, Saltonstall developed an early appreciation for military life.

After losing his father at 17, he spent a decade crisscrossing the country — from Florida to Alaska to Oregon — collecting experiences that ranged from managing a pedicab company to performing as a clown in a small Texas circus.

“I was the mechanic and manager of a pedicab (bike taxi) company in Portland (Oregon),” Saltonstall said. “I met a clown there who was heading down to Texas, and I went with him. Being a clown was so much fun. It’s an art form. The role of the jester in the court was unique historically. He was the only one allowed to challenge the king.”

Saltonstall spent two years in the circus when, in 2010, he saw a Craigslist ad seeking volunteers to help rebuild homes in Haiti after a devastating earthquake.

Initially skeptical, he answered the ad and soon found himself working alongside U.S. service members providing humanitarian aid.

“These were men who spoke like my father,” Saltonstall said. “They were confident, disciplined in their language, competent and calm.”

Inspired, he walked into a Marine Corps recruiting office when he returned home — only to be told by arecruiter that while his life thus far had been “interesting,” the Marines weren’t looking for “interesting.”Undeterred, he stepped next door to the Army recruiter, where he found his place for the next five-plus years.

Serving as a Night Stalker medic

Saltonstall completed the combat medic’s course at the Joint Special Operations Airborne School and deployed to Afghanistan as an Advanced Tactical Paramedic with the 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The Night Stalkers are the unit that delivers special operations teams — Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Green Berets — on high‑risk night missions. Their pilots are trained to fly low and fast under enemy radar.

Although he wasn’t involved, such military enterprises include the May 2011 mission to capture Osama Bin Laden, Saltonstall said, or more recently, the one that retrieved the pilot shot down in unfriendly territory during the current Iran War.

“We flew the big Chinook helicopters,” he said. “We’d have at least one medic assigned to each mission. I usually tried to make myself as small as possible and sit in the back out of the way of the (combatants).”

His job was threefold, he said. First, he tended to the daily well-being of the people in his unit. His second role was medical contingency planning when deployed to make sure that any injured combatants brought back to the helicopter would survive until they got to land-based medical facilities.

The last of his roles was going on missions and providing the care needed. This service, he said, was in his nature. Throughout his life, Saltonstall said, blood never bothered him; he’d always been interested in medicine and found it natural to help those injured.

His awards include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and the Parachutist Badge.

A new life in New Hampshire

After leaving the service in 2016, Saltonstall planned to pursue medicine through an Army program at Wesleyan University. That’s where he met his future wife, Sophie, an Emmy‑nominated filmmaker whose family owns Stratham’s historic Saltonstall Farm.

“My goal was to become a doctor and make enough money to retire and buy a farm,” he said. “When Sophie learned of it, she said, ‘Do you want a shortcut?’ When he returned from World War II, in 1947, my wife’s grandfather, Dr. Saltonstall, founded her family farm.”

The couple moved to Stratham, married, and took Sophie’s mother’s maiden name as their own. Saltonstall transferred to UNH, switched from pre‑med to agriculture, and never looked back.

Today, the father of three young children helps run the family’s organic farm, where strawberry season runs from early June through the Fourth of July, followed by raspberries and an indoor strawberry crop that produces into November.

“I really believe we have the best organic strawberries on the Seacoast,” he said. “And we hope to bring in blueberries soon.”

One thing was missing when he returned to New Hampshire: the adrenaline of emergency response. He found it with the Stratham Fire Department, where he has volunteered for seven years. He has earned EMT certification and recently completed Firefighter I and II training.

“I enjoy the variety,” he said. “I’m glad to be where I am.”

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