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More than 350 foreign policy and national security leaders, including former secretaries of state and defense, signed an open letter on Tuesday endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Former Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) signed the letter, and joins Catalysts to discuss why he's pledged his support for Harris in November.

"She spent more years as a prosecutor, as an ADA, as a DA, as the attorney general than she did in politics as a US senator or the vice president. But there's a real contrast, and you have to let people know what the contrast is. And not just about, obviously, someone who believes in the rule of law versus someone who doesn't, but also how she's going to continue to keep our family safe here at home," Murphy explains. He points to a declining crime rate and strong GDP growth as positive indicators of her work under the Biden Administration as areas she could potentially draw in the independent vote.

As inflation remains a challenge for most of Americans, he argues that "people need to realize that when Donald Trump was the president of the United States, in those four years, the debt increased $8 trillion. Under President Biden, it increased $4 trillion." He believes that many voters don't understand this concept because economic sentiment going into an election is established in the summer beforehand: "They look at inflation, it was 9%. Now, it's down to less than 3%. But no one's spiking the football. They understand they have to do more."

With the Democratic National Convention approaching quickly, the Harris campaign is weighing its choices for vice president. Murphy points to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as the top three picks in the veepstakes. He adds, "I think America will win if either one of those three is picked."

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This post was written by Melanie Riehl