WASHINGTON – WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris moved quickly to arrest the Democratic delegates behind his campaign for the White House after President Joe Biden has stepped aside amid concerns from within his own party that he would be unable to defeat Donald Trump.
Biden’s departure on Sunday, prompted by Democrats’ concerns about his fitness for office, was a seismic shift in the presidential contest that upended both parties’ carefully crafted plans for the race.
Aiming to put weeks of intraparty drama over Biden’s candidacy behind them, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris just hours after Biden announced he was abandoning his re-election campaign.
Biden’s departure frees his delegates to vote for whoever they want. Harris, who Biden endorsed after ending his candidacy, is so far the only declared candidate and was working to quickly win the endorsement of a majority of delegates.
It’s just the first item on an impressive political to-do list for her following Biden’s decision to drop out of the race, which she learned about in a Sunday morning call with the president. If she manages to secure the nomination, she must also choose a running mate and launch a massive political operation to boost her candidacy, rather than Biden’s, with just over 100 days until Election Day.
On Sunday afternoon, Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 employees and a war chest that amounted to nearly $96 million at the end of June.
Harris spent much of Sunday surrounded by family and staff, making more than 100 calls to Democratic officials to drum up support for her candidacy, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the effort. It comes as she tries to move her party past the painful public disputes that have defined the weeks since Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate with Trump.
Speaking to party leaders, Harris expressed gratitude for Biden’s support but insisted she sought the nomination in her own right, the person said.
In a sign that the Democratic Party was rallying behind her, Harris quickly gained support from the leadership of several influential political caucuses and organizations, including the AAPI Victory Fund, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, the Collective PAC, focused on building black political power, and the Fund for Latino Victory, as well as the chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the entire Congressional Black Caucus. Harris, if elected, would be the first woman and first person of South Asian descent to be president.
Notably, a handful of men who had previously been discussed as potential Harris running mates — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly — also quickly issued statements endorsing it. Aides for Shapiro and Cooper confirmed that Harris spoke with them on Sunday afternoon. In his brief call with Cooper, the North Carolina governor told Harris he supported her to be the Democratic nominee, according to Cooper spokeswoman Sadie Weiner.
But former President Barack Obama held off on an immediate endorsement, as some party members expressed concern that the quick move to Harris could feel like a coronation, instead pledging their support for the party’s eventual nominee.
Meanwhile, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the party earlier this year to become an independent, is considering re-registering as a Democrat to run for the vice presidential nomination, according to Jonathan Kott, a senior adviser. Manchin’s longtime supporter.
Harris would make her first public appearance Monday morning at the White House, where she was scheduled to speak at an event honoring the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s championship teams. She is replacing Biden, who is recovering after contracting COVID-19 last week.
Harris, in a statement, praised Biden’s “selfless and patriotic act” in deciding to abandon the race and said she intends to “win and achieve” her party’s nomination.
“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she said.
Biden planned to discuss his decision to step aside later this week in an address to the nation. He wrote in a letter posted Sunday to his X account: “I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country for me to resign and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”
Nearly 30 minutes after breaking the news that he was ending his campaign, Biden threw his support behind Harris.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year,” he said in another post on X. “Democrats – it’s time to come together and defeat Trump.”
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to take place August 19-22 in Chicago, but the party announced it would hold a virtual call formally nominate Biden before the in-person process begins. The convention’s rules committee is scheduled to meet this week to finalize its nominating process, and it’s unclear how it will be adjusted to reflect Biden’s departure.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragan, who emphasized she was “fully” in support of the vice president, said she spoke Sunday with Harris, who conveyed that she preferred to forgo a virtual call for the nomination process and instead Furthermore, carry out a process that adheres to the normal order.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement that the party would “undertake a transparent and orderly process” to select “a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”
