The day that catapulted Kamala Harris close to becoming the Democratic candidate for President of the United States was marked by a flood of phone calls.
Harris had several phone conversations with President Biden before his Sunday morning announcement that he was ending his re-election bid, according to a person familiar with Harris’ activities on Sunday. The announcement, which he released on X, shook the political world and came after growing calls for him not to seek a second term following a disastrous debate performance against donald trump.
From there, Harris spoke with more than 100 Democrats, including members of Congress, governors and labor and civil rights leaders, the source said.
“In each of these calls, the vice president made it clear that she was extremely grateful for the president’s support, but plans to work hard to win the Democratic nomination in her own right,” according to the source.
See more information: Biden simply gave up and supported Harris. What happens now?
Dressed in a Howard University sweatshirt, Harris served salad, sandwiches and anchovy-topped pizzas to her aides as she spent about 10 hours on phone calls with Democratic leaders Sunday at her residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory, the source said.
Among the people she talked to was her pastor, Amos Brown III, who prayed with her.
As news of Biden spread, Harris quickly began to gain support from many of her party’s top figures.
Although Democrats have said they will have an open race to select their candidate, many of the party’s leaders have supported Harris, including governors. Gavin Newsom of California, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Kathy Hochul of New York, Janet Mills of Maine, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Jared Polis of Colorado and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, as well as Senators Laphonza Butler and Alex Padilla of California , Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Chris Coons of Delaware, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and John Hickenlooper of Colorado.
There are also indications of spikes in fundraising since the announcement.
Biden’s announcement ends weeks of dispute between party leaders which urged him to drop out of the race after a disastrous debate performance last month, left many Democrats fearing he was too old for the job and incapable of defeating former President Trump.
“I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country for me to step aside and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a statement. He will address the nation later this week, he said.
See more information: Governor Newsom endorses Kamala Harris for president in show of California unity after Biden drops out
In his opening statement, Biden did not endorse Harris, but later threw his support behind her in an X post.
“My first decision as the party’s 2020 candidate was to choose Kamala Harris as my vice president. And it was the best decision I made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and defeat Trump. Let’s do this,” Biden wrote.
In her own statement, Harris thanked Biden for his “extraordinary leadership.”
“I feel honored to have the support of the President and my intention is to deserve and win this nomination,” she said. “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.”
Through his victories in the Democratic primaries and caucuses in US states and territories, Biden has gathered nearly 4,000 party delegates who have pledged to vote for him to be the party’s nominee at the Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled to begin on August 19 in Chicago.
See more information: Harris, with Biden’s endorsement, says she intends to ‘win and win this nomination’
His withdrawal from the race means those delegates are now free to choose another candidate. They are not committed to Harris.
Choosing a new nominee will be your main task at the convention.
Jaime Harrison, the party’s president, said in a statement Sunday that “the work we must do now, while unprecedented, is clear.”
Times staff writers Kevin Rector and Faith E. Phino contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
