Jaime Harrison said on Tuesday that he would consider chairing the Democratic National Committee (DNC) if Joe Biden offered him this position in building his presidential administration.
Just a week after giving up his hard-fought fight to remove South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, Harrison told the Washington Post that he would “definitely” consider chairing the National Committee if the opportunity presented itself.
“If they are interested in me doing so, I will definitely look into it,” Harrison told the newspaper. He went on to say that he had not yet talked to Biden about stepping into any administrative position, but he had heard from others within the party who had indicated that they believed Harrison would do the job well.
One of the people Harrison referred to was caucus leader James Clyburn, who backed Biden in February just before Biden won the state primary. Harrison told the Post that while he “cannot betray” any “conversations” with Clyburn, “I know it’s something he seems to think I could do.
Washington Newsday approached Clyburn’s office with a request for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Harrison said he was “flattered” by the idea of taking over the chair of the committee, but admitted that the decision must ultimately be made by Biden.
Harrison previously chaired the South Carolina Democratic Party and currently serves as vice chairman and senior advisor to the DNC. He launched his Senate campaign last year by criticizing the way Graham went from being a critic to an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump during Trump’s term. The race became increasingly competitive as Harrison’s campaign raised a record $57 million in the third quarter – the most money a Senate campaign has raised in a single quarter.
Despite Harrison’s donation figures and polls conducted in the weeks leading up to the election, which showed the race was close, Graham won by more than 10 points according to the Associated Press. Graham’s seat is one of several seats that the Democrats were unable to turn over during last week’s election, so the Republicans are likely to have the majority in the Senate.
While election workers across the country continued counting votes a week after election day, several key media outlets declared Biden the winner of the presidential campaign on November 7 after he secured the 270 votes needed to win the election. Although Trump has not yet admitted to the election, Biden said on Tuesday that his team had already begun taking steps to help the federal government transition from one government to another.
