Democratic officials, donors back Harris after Biden exits US presidential race

WASHINGTON — Momentum appeared to be on the side of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday, as a groundswell of Democratic lawmakers, governors and financial donors expressed their support for her to be the party’s presidential nominee in the November election after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

Biden followed his surprise announcement Sunday by issuing his own endorsement of Harris to face former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s nominee.

Harris, who is 59, quickly announced that she would seek the nomination. She was a senator from the country’s most populous state, California, when Biden picked her in 2020 as his running mate after Harris’ challenge to Biden and other primary contenders fell apart.

Her approval ratings in national surveys have largely reflected the president’s, but some surveys of likely voters show Harris faring slightly better than Biden against Trump and, in a few, she has polled ahead of Trump.

Harris said in a statement that Biden, by withdrawing from the race against Trump, “is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else.”

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump,” she said. “We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”

ActBlue, a leading Democratic fundraising platform, said late Sunday it had collected $46.7 million in small-dollar donations for the Harris campaign on Sunday alone. That stood in contrast to weeks of waning support for Biden, particularly among top donors, following his performance in a late June debate against Trump.

The Association of State Democratic Committees said in a statement that an “overwhelming majority” of state party leaders backed Harris as the party’s nominee, with several abstaining for procedural reasons.

Sunday’s outpouring of support for Harris also included at least one Biden Cabinet member, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who said he would do “all I can” to help elect Harris.

If Harris is accepted by the party to replace Biden, she would be the first Black woman and South Asian major party presidential nominee in the 248-year history of the United States. 

Biden’s announcement Sunday followed a rising chorus within the Democratic Party urging him to “pass the torch” amid his declining national poll numbers and concerns raised by his debate performance.  During the debate, the 81-year-old president often appeared to lose his train of thought, failed to forcefully press his case against the 78-year-old Trump or defend his own tenure in the White House. 

Biden persevered, insisting he would not quit the race unless “the Lord Almighty” asked him to or if he was shown polling numbers that he could not beat Trump a second time or advised by his doctors he was not physically able to continue.

“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” he said in a statement Sunday. His term ends in January.

Biden said he plans to address the nation about his decision later this week.

Trump responded to the announcement by assailing both Biden and Harris.

“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve - And never was!” Trump posted on social media, adding that Harris was just as bad as Biden.

"Harris will be easier to beat than Joe Biden would have been," Trump told CNN.

Many Republicans reacted by calling for Biden to resign as president.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, who is second in the presidential line of succession behind Harris, called on Biden to step down, claiming if he is unfit to keep his candidacy alive for another four-year term, he is also unfit to remain as president until Jan. 20.

If Biden were to resign, Harris would immediately be sworn in as president, at least until the inauguration for the victor of November’s election.

Names of other prominent Democrats have been floated as potential candidates other than Harris, including several state governors: Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Gavin Newsom of California. Shapiro and Newsom endorsed Harris on Sunday.

Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of State under President Barack Obama, endorsed Harris in a statement. Obama, whom Biden served with as vice president for eight years, thanked Biden for his patriotism, but did not indicate whether he was supporting Harris or any other potential contender.

Media reports in the hours following Biden’s withdrawal quoted sources close to Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, now an independent, saying he was considering rejoining the Democratic Party to try to replace the president at the top of the party’s ticket.

There are two ways for Democrats to replace Biden as the party’s standard-bearer. 

One would be a virtual vote among delegates to the Democratic National Convention next month in Chicago that would lock in a new nominee in early August. Chances are this process would favor Harris, avoiding conflict at the Aug. 19-22 convention in front of a national television audience.

The other way Democrats could pick a new nominee would be an “open” convention in which several candidates, including Harris, would seek the presidential nomination, a scenario the party hasn’t experienced since 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson dropped his plans to run for reelection in face of widespread opposition to his handling of America’s war against North Vietnam.

Some Democrats are suggesting the party quickly hold a “mini primary” to allow Harris and anyone else to openly compete.

Biden has no public events on his schedule for Monday. The White House said details on his schedule for the rest of the week will be forthcoming. He had been set to meet with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to officials in Israel.

Some material for this article came from The Associated Press and Reuters.