2024 Election: Biden Leaves Office, Harris Seeks Democratic Nomination

Washington (Associated Press) Vice President Kamala Harris He quickly tied up the Democratic delegates behind his campaign for the White House. President Joe Biden leaves office The move comes as fears grow within the party that he may not be able to beat Republican Donald Trump.

Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race on Sunday, triggered by Democratic concerns about his eligibility, marked a major shift in the presidential race and upended the two major parties’ carefully crafted plans for the 2024 election.

Prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political groups immediately sought to end weeks of intraparty drama surrounding Biden’s candidacy. Standing behind Harris Hours after Biden announced his resignation His reelection campaign.

Biden’s departure Release the representative The primary is an election campaign where electors decide who to vote for. Harris, who was endorsed by Biden after he withdrew his candidacy, is the only candidate who has declared her candidacy so far and has been trying to quickly secure the support of a majority of delegates.

It’s just the first item on her massive political to-do list after she learned in a Sunday morning phone call with the president that Biden was dropping out of the race. If she wins the nomination, she’ll have to pick a running mate and pivot to a major political operation to back her candidacy instead of Biden with just over 100 days until Election Day.

On Sunday afternoon, the Biden campaign officially changed its name to “Harris Campaign for President,” reflecting that she will be inheriting Biden’s political operation of more than 1,000 staff members and a campaign coffer that had reached nearly $96 million as of the end of June.

Ms. Harris spent much of Sunday surrounded by family and staff, making more than 100 calls to senior Democratic Party officials to solicit support for her candidacy, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity as she tries to move the Democratic Party away from the painful public disputes that have defined the weeks since the presidential election. Biden’s June 27 debate was a disaster With Trump.

Harris told party leaders she appreciated Biden’s support but insisted she wanted to win the nomination on her own, the people said.

In a sign of Democrats rallying behind Harris, she quickly garnered endorsements from leaders of several influential caucuses and political organizations, including the AAPI Victory Fund, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, The Collective PAC, which focuses on building black political power, and the Latino Victory Fund, as well as the chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Black Caucus overall. If elected, Harris would be the first woman and first South Asian American president.

Notably, several people who had already been mentioned as possible running mates for Harris — Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly — quickly issued statements endorsing her. Aides to Shapiro and Cooper confirmed that Harris had spoken with them on Sunday afternoon. Cooper spokeswoman Sadie Weiner said the North Carolina governor told Harris in a brief phone call he endorsed her for the Democratic nomination.

But former President Barack Obama withheld his immediate endorsement after some in his party expressed concern that a quick shift in support for Harris would look like a coronation, vowing instead to back his party’s eventual nominee.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who left the party earlier this year to become an independent, is considering re-registering as a Democrat to run against the vice president for the nomination, said Jonathan Cott, a longtime adviser to Manchin.

Harris will make her first public appearance at the White House on Monday morning, speaking at an event honoring the NCAA championship team. Infected with COVID-19 last week.

In a statement, Harris praised Biden for his “selfless and patriotic act” of deciding to drop out of the race and said he intended to “earn and win” his party’s nomination.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party, unite the country and defeat Donald Trump. His Extreme Project 2025 Agenda,” she said.

Biden was scheduled to address the nation later this week about his decision to step down. In a letter posted to his X account on Sunday, he wrote, “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and my country for me to step down and focus on fulfilling the duties of my presidency for the remainder of my term.”

Biden endorsed Harris about 30 minutes after announcing he was quitting the campaign.

“Today I want to fully endorse and support Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year,” he said in another post on X. “Democrats, now is the time to come together and defeat Trump.”

Democratic National Convention The party was scheduled to take place in Chicago from August 19 to 22, but Virtual roll call Biden will be formally nominated before the in-person process begins. The convention’s rules committee is scheduled to meet this week to finalize the nomination process, but it is unclear how it will be adjusted to reflect Biden’s withdrawal.

House Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragan stressed her “full support” for the vice president and said she spoke with Harris on Sunday and that she preferred to forgo a virtual roll call for the nomination process and instead follow the normal procedure.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement that the party would “conduct a transparent and orderly process” to select “a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”

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See AP’s 2024 election coverage below. https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.