| | | | |  | | By Brakkton Booker, Gloria Gonzalez and Jesse Naranjo | What up, Recast fam. On today’s agenda:
- An “uncommitted” DNC delegate on what the movement needs from the Harris-Walz ticket
- How Democrats might be trying to win over Puerto Ricans
- AIPAC’s seemingly insurmountable power
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Asma Mohammed, an activist with Uncommitted Minnesota, reacts to election results at a watch party during the presidential primary in Minneapolis on March 5, 2024. | POLITICO illustration/Photo by AFP via Getty Images | When Kamala Harris formally accepts her party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention next week, tens of thousands of activists plan to greet her with a message: Change your stance on Israel or risk losing the election. Asma Mohammed won’t be protesting. She’ll be inside the arena itself, one of 30 “uncommitted” delegates representing a grassroots voter consortium that has opposed President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza. In recent weeks, the “uncommitted” movement has seen promise of a new path forward for Palestinians, thanks to Harris’ rise and her pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Walz may be an especially attractive candidate. In March, he praised the movement as “civically engaged” after approximately 45,000 Minnesotan voters cast protest ballots in the primary, enough to send 11 “uncommitted” delegates from the state to the convention. He also called the situation in Gaza “intolerable.” But the lack of a cease-fire deal, arms embargo (which Harris still doesn’t support) or attempts to meet other public demands from uncommitted voters could be a real issue for the Harris-Walz ticket in all-important “Blue Wall” states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. That was clear when pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted the vice president on consecutive days of her swing-state introductory tour.
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In a statement to The Recast, the Harris campaign said the vice president will continue to engage with the Arab, Muslim and Palestinian community members pushing to end the war in Gaza and fight to secure a cease-fire deal.
“As she has said, it is time for this war to end in a way where: Israel is secure, hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination,” a spokesperson said. Mohammed, a lead organizer for Uncommitted Minnesota, thinks Harris needs to go further — and fast. She’s counting on her own history working with Walz and successfully pushing him on progressive health care and hate crime bills to give her an opening on Palestine. We caught up with her below. ◆◆◆ This interview has been edited for length and clarity. THE RECAST: Vice President Harris shifted her messaging in successive days on the campaign trail when confronted by demonstrators on the issue of Gaza last week. In Michigan: “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise I’m speaking.” The next day in Phoenix: “Now is the time to get a cease-fire deal and get the hostage deal done.” What did you make of the tonal switch? MOHAMMED: Michigan is where she should have had that tone, right? THE RECAST: Did you feel that her tone in Michigan was off? MOHAMMED: Absolutely. The path to victory runs through Michigan. People in Michigan were waiting for her to address this head-on, be like, “I support a cease-fire and I do have a plan.” Nobody has heard anything about this plan. And saying, “I support a cease-fire,” I think is barely touching the surface. There is not a lot of time for people to make big decisions. Having that plan ahead of the Democratic National Convention would be incredibly helpful, not just to delegates, but to people who are feeling completely left out, disenfranchised and hopeless about November. | 
An activist holds a "Vote Uncommitted" sign outside a voting location in Dearborn, Michigan, on Feb. 27, 2024. | Paul Sancya/AP |
THE RECAST: It was just a week ago that Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, your governor, as her running mate. What does her selection of Walz signal to you as far as her position on the Israel-Gaza conflict?
MOHAMMED: First, we’re really relieved that [Pennsylvania Gov. Josh] Shapiro wasn't the pick. He's a former [Israel Defense Forces] volunteer, and beyond that, had taken some really hard lines against the First Amendment with protesters and student protesters who wanted their voices heard. Gov. Walz has been a big supporter of Israel, [but] he also had some nice things to say about the "uncommitted" movement, about these are people who are a part of the party, and they also deserve to be heard. I’ve worked with Gov. Walz to pass some really good legislation. We passed the menstrual equity bill, which got tampons in all public schools. Minnesota passed a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations for reporting sexual violence and passed a really strong hate crime bill that would allow groups to track hate crimes in our communities and bring it back to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. These are bills that maybe in the beginning were hard for him, but he was willing to move on these. So to me Walz is a movable target. I think that we can elicit some more wins from him.
|  Mohammed addresses media during a watch party in Minneapolis on Super Tuesday. | Stephen Maturen/AFP via Getty Images | THE RECAST: So there is a scenario where you could work through Walz to get to Harris? MOHAMMED: It's possible. I also don't think he is, like, the actual target. I think it's Harris who needs to be moved. And I don't think any of that can happen without showing her she could lose in November without this big coalition. I think Minnesota is more on the map now than it ever has been in my lifetime, which is exciting for me. THE RECAST: Donald Trump had his eyes set on flipping Minnesota, campaigning there earlier in May, obviously before the shake-up atop the Democratic ticket. Does the Walz pick keep the state squarely in the Democrats’ column? MOHAMMED: I was grateful because this is a pick that's going to get folks excited, especially Gen Z voters who are saying Tim Walz has "big dad energy."
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| But simultaneously, I’m seeing this as an opportunity to engage the Democrats who, like myself, have been a part of the party, who are also accountable to community, who are also saying that they don't seem like they've been heard. And who are feeling like they are willing to leave this party because their values are not being represented — and it's because of this genocide. We're pushing for Harris to realize that, yes, while Walz is a great pick, he's not going to push her over the edge. Especially with folks who don't know about his record, who are really only waiting to hear about an end to the genocide and are not going to give a damn about anything else. Voters are feeling really apathetic at this moment. That’s why they’ll be showing up in the tens of thousands to protest at the DNC because there's no protest vote option on the convention floor right now. THE RECAST: So being one of 30 “uncommitted” delegates at the DNC, how do you get the Harris campaign to set a meeting with organizers and move her on this issue? MOHAMMED: We cannot win against Donald Trump if we don't have all the uncommitted voters and all the people who are truly on the fence right now. If we do not have a cease-fire and arms embargo promise from Vice President Harris, come November, I am sure that we will lose. As a Muslim woman, who wears a hijab, I have the most to lose from a Trump presidency. So I'm saying this from a self-preservation standpoint — I know that this is the only way we can save the soul of our party. |  Supporters cheer at a Harris-Walz rally on Friday in Glendale, Arizona. | Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images | Everything I've seen has been like, “There are great vibes around her campaign. People are so excited. We're getting millions in the bank.” That is not what can win an election. What wins an election is people actually showing up to the polls. So, I am excited to meet other delegates next week and hear about their plans to work for a cease-fire within their states because I really think there are more people who are for a cease-fire than folks would like to admit. I'm trying to be like a bridge between the community and this campaign. My job is to make Harris a better candidate and help to stop this genocide any way that I can.
| | | DEMOCRATS’ PUERTO RICO PLAY
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Walz voted against the creation of Puerto Rico’s controversial oversight board while he was in Congress. | Julia Nikhinson/AP | In an election that could be decided on the tightest of Electoral College vote margins, Democrats may be trying to appeal to the nearly 6 million Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. mainland — particularly in critical battleground states — by focusing on the Puerto Ricans in the territory. Democrats are throwing their support behind the Puerto Rico Status Act, a bill introduced in 2023 by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) that would establish a federal-sponsored referendum allowing Puerto Ricans to choose from three options: statehood, independence or free association with the United States. And Harris recently elevated Walz, who voted against the creation of the territory’s controversial oversight board while he was in Congress. The roughly 3.2 million people living in Puerto Rico are American citizens but do not have all the same rights as those living in the 50 states, including the right to vote in presidential elections or having equal access to federal programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “I think the Democrats have realized the days when they could ignore the situation in Puerto Rico have passed,” said Charles A. Rodríguez, chair of the territory’s Democratic Party. But critics of the status bill say it does not lay out what choosing these options would mean on issues ranging from whether Puerto Ricans would be subject to paying federal taxes to whether they could keep speaking Spanish as their primary language. The amendment to back the status bill, adopted during the DNC’s platform committee meeting by unanimous consent, also struck language about self-determination for Puerto Rico in favor of language partial to the statehood option, said Federico A. de Jesús, Power 4PR’s senior policy adviser. Democrats on Capitol Hill have supported the statehood path, assuming Puerto Rico would be a blue state and the party would gain two additional senators, de Jesús tells The Recast. But that’s not a given: The three more established parties in the territory are split over what status they'd prefer and right-leaning minority parties have grown in popularity. “Puerto Ricans don’t view themselves as Democrats and Republicans,” de Jesús says. Democrats also pledged in the 2024 party platform to “work to dissolve” the Financial Oversight and Management Board that Congress created through a 2016 law commonly known as PROMESA to resolve Puerto Rico’s historic municipal bankruptcy. A board spokesperson said in a statement that it has cut the territory’s massive debt by 80 percent and “is now focused on the budget reforms that will ensure Puerto Rico is not falling back into crisis, and the economic reforms that will help create sustainable growth.” But many Puerto Ricans have chafed under the board, whose unelected members have imposed significant budget cuts and made policy decisions for them without representation. They now see an ally in Walz. Julio López Varona, co-chief of campaigns for the Center for Popular Democracy, said the governor’s vote against PROMESA was “a strong signal on what policies he believes should be put into place to support Puerto Rico.” Moreover, it’s the first time someone who openly opposed the legislation would (potentially) be in the White House, he tells The Recast in an email. But just how much a Harris-Walz administration would push to resolve the status dispute and diverge from the Biden-Harris administration remains an open question.
| | | IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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In the days after Cori Bush's defeat last week, senior liberals in Congress, including Bernie Sanders, have begun to reckon with the size of the problem they face. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP | PROGRESSIVES GAUGE AIPAC’S POWER — Progressives weren’t sure if AIPAC’s successful campaign against New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman earlier this year was replicable. Then it helped oust Missouri Rep. Cori Bush. Now, senior politicians on the left are reckoning with the seemingly insurmountable power the pro-Israel group holds in primarying their allies, POLITICO’s Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris report. And more:
- Donald Trump’s vindictiveness may have shown in his interview with X’s Elon Musk last night, but in sum the affair amounted to a “snoozefest.” (The Bulwark’s William Kristol and Andrew Egger)
- Nneka Ogwumike, a nine-time WNBA all-star and president of its players union, is taking the helm of the voting-centric nonprofit founded by Lebron James in 2020. (NYT’s Tania Ganguli)
- Meena Harris has leveraged political adjacency to build a for-profit brand. Her aunt’s sudden elevation to the top of the ticket provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (POLITICO’s Ben Schreckinger)
| | | TODAY’S POP CULTURE RECS OBAMA: The former president’s summer music recs and book recs are out — and let us tell you, it has range. WEDDINGS: Chuck Rocha, a longtime Democratic strategist who made our power list in 2022, got married to Ebony Payne, a D.C. ANC commissioner, in Hawaii. Not to be outdone, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Hana Pugh. WATCH: 16-year-old USA track star Quincy Wilson gets (lovingly) dragged. Edited by Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
