While Illinois’ delegation at the Democratic National Convention was nearly united in its support for Vice President Kamala Harris, one local school board member serving as a delegate did not join in backing her nomination for president, according to people with knowledge of the vote count.
Alejandro “Alex” Gallegos, a Crete-Monee Unit School District 201 board member, was the one person in the delegation to vote “present” rather than for Harris.
At a sit-in organized by “the uncommitted movement,” a group of delegates and others said they withheld support for the Harris Walz ticket in part due to the campaign’s failure to fulfill their demand to add a Palestinian American speaker to the DNC lineup.
Gallegos, who is not Palestinian himself, said his choice to vote “present” instead of in favor of Harris as the Democratic nominee for president came from what he sees as a failure of Harris as vice president to aid in declaration of a ceasefire.
“I’ve always been on the right side of history, on the anti-genocide side, because I value human rights, no matter who the human is,” Gallegos said.
The small town Democrat said when he agreed to become an Illinois delegate for the Chicago convention in October, he did so with the hope that Biden would drop out of the race and make room for a more progressive candidate. However, his resistance toward following other delegates’ lead came as soon as Biden endorsed Harris as his replacement.
“He endorsed Kamala, but that doesn’t mean I have to,” Gallegos said, adding that he hoped for an open primary and didn’t believe Biden should have the opportunity to hand pick the nominee. Beyond general stubbornness though, Gallegos hoped to make a symbolic statement that could inspire others to vote with their own morals front and center, rather than following the party line.
While Gallegos said he has no regrets about his uncommitted vote, he understands the decision made him unpopular among other Illinois delegates and could impact his political future.
“When I go down on the floor, and I get to my seat, I can just feel that people are staring at me and not liking me,” Gallegos said, laughing.
While he highly doubts he will have another chance to serve as a delegate, Gallegos said he would “love” to do so at a future convention. But he made no promises not to jump ship again.
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The Illinois delegation cast 176 votes for Harris, Gov. JB Pritzker said in announcing the vote count Tuesday night during the ceremonial state-by-state roll call at the United Center.
According to The Associated Press, the official nomination in early August saw 4,563 votes for Harris and 52 for “present,” with 79 people not casting votes. While that vote count took place online, the festivities in Chicago on Tuesday were a strictly made-for-TV affair.
The “present” vote came to light at the convention, after Illinois Democratic Chair Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, a state representative from Cicero, announced on Aug. 5 that the the state’s delegation had voted unanimously to make Harris the party’s nominee.
President Joe Biden’s response to the war in Gaza has divided Democratic voters, even as those in the United Center this week have generally locked arms in support of his vice president.
Though Biden’s decision to step aside has in some ways changed the conversation around the war, remnants of a primary season in which some voters denied him their support over the issue echoed in the form of “present” votes read on the convention floor late Tuesday.
Northern Public Radio reported earlier this week that Gallegos said he wants military aid to Israel to end.
“She’s not going to get to that policy without of a little bit of effort, a little bit of push,” Northern Public Radio reported that Gallegos said of Harris. “That’s all I’m here for — to give her that nudge that she needs to change course and do the right thing.”
baiduhai’s Jeremy Gorner contributed.