Leading Democrats Express Support for Vice President Kamala Harris Sunday as their party seeks a candidate to replace President Biden in the 2024 race, now that he has withdrew from the race.
Mr. Biden Harris approved After announcing his decision to step down, however, he cannot personally nominate a Democratic candidate to replace him in the presidential race. The final nominee will be determined by a vote of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which was scheduled to be held virtually early next month. The convention opens Aug. 19.
“My very first decision as the party’s nominee in 2020 was to choose Kamala Harris as my running mate,” Biden said in a social media post. “And it was the best decision I’ve ever 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 it.”
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among the group of politicians who endorsed Harris in the hours after Mr Biden’s election. announcement.
“We join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished, standing up for America time and time again, always with what is best for the country in mind. We are honored to join the President in supporting Vice President Harris and will do everything we can to support her,” the Clintons said in a joint statement.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but nothing worries us more about our country than the threat of a second Trump term. He promised to be a dictator from day one, and the recent decision by his subservient Supreme Court will only embolden him to shred the Constitution even further,” the statement continued. “Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with all our might to elect her. America’s future depends on it.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who ran her own presidential campaign in 2020, also released a statement endorsing Harris as the party’s potential nominee this year.
“I am endorsing Kamala Harris for president,” Warren’s statement read. “She is a proven fighter and has been a national leader in consumer protection and abortion access. As a former prosecutor, she can make a powerful case against Donald Trump returning to the White House. We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person the voters chose to succeed Joe Biden if necessary. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November.”
Mr Biden’s decision to end his campaign follows weeks of turmoil within the Democratic Party over his ability to win re-election and serve another term, since his disastrous performance in the June presidential debate against his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a close Biden ally, wrote: “I echo his good judgment in choosing Vice President Harris to lead this nation alongside him, and I am proud to follow his lead in endorsing her candidacy to succeed him as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 2024.”
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota also endorsed Harris.
Klobuchar, who ran against Biden and Harris in the 2020 primaries, told CBS News: “She’s an incredibly strong leader who will bring to this office and this campaign the revenue. … She’s someone who knows the job, who knows the work. And I also know her as a good person.”
The political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, CBCPAC, came out in support of Harris, as did the head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Nanette Barragán of California.
“The Congressional Black Caucus PAC joins President Biden in fully supporting Kamala Harris as our party’s nominee,” CBCPAC Chair Rep. Gregory Meeks and Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford said in a statement. “She has been instrumental in the accomplishments of the last 3.5 years and has been a driving force in reducing maternal mortality rates, protecting reproductive freedoms, and ensuring economic opportunity for all. She will do an excellent job as President of the United States.”
Harris said that she plans to “win and win” the Democratic presidential nomination in a statement released shortly after Mr. Biden’s endorsement.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and I intend to win this nomination,” she said in the statement. “Over the past year, I have traveled the country, speaking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And I will continue to do so in the days and weeks ahead. 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.”
Notable Democrats Who Haven’t Yet Endorsed Harris
Other prominent Democratic figures, including former President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, congratulated Mr Biden following the withdrawal but stopped short of endorsing Harris wholeheartedly. Obama released a long statement in response to the ad, in which he hailed Mr Biden – his former vice president – as “a patriot of the highest order” and “one of America’s most influential presidents”.
Top Democratic leaders in Congress, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both issued statements that did not mention Harris.
