Many Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi and potential rivals, have rallied around the vice president as she looks to clinch the nomination.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event honoring National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship teams from the 2023-2024 season, on the South Lawn of the White House on July 22, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Here is the latest
• AFL-CIO Endorses Harris
• Harris Lays Out Vision to Campaign Staff
• Biden Calls Campaign HQ Ahead of Harris’s Remarks
• Wisconsin Democratic Party Endorses Harris
• Harris Arrives in Delaware for Campaign Meeting
AFL-CIO Endorses Harris
By Jacob Burg
The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, unanimously endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday.
“From day one, Vice President Kamala Harris has been a true partner in leading the most pro-labor administration in history,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said.
“At every step in her distinguished career in public office, she’s proven herself a principled and tenacious fighter for working people and a visionary leader we can count on.”
Comprised of 60 unions and more than 12.5 million workers, the AFL-CIO marks a major labor endorsement, key to locking in votes in battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The AFL-CIO previously endorsed President Joe Biden before he pulled out of the 2024 presidential race.
Harris Lays Out Vision to Campaign Staff
Vice President Kamala Harris appeared in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 22 to accept both President Joe Biden’s endorsement and the established staff and network of the Biden–Harris reelection campaign.
She praised and thanked President Joe Biden for his leadership, expressed confidence in her new staff, and outlined her vision for the next four years, should she ascend to the Oval Office.
“Together, we [will] fight to build a nation where every person has affordable health care, where every worker is paid fairly, and where every senior can retire with dignity,” she said, adding that building up the middle class would be a “defining goal” of a Harris presidency.
She promised to fight for the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, take action against guns by passing universal background checks, red flag laws, and an assault weapons ban, and pass pro-abortion legislation.
Ms. Harris said she hopes the campaign team will help elect a congressional majority who agrees “government should not be telling a woman what to do with her body” and will pass a law that she will sign to “restore reproductive freedoms.”
Ms. Harris also named Jen O’Malley Dillon to run her campaign and asked Julie Chavez Rodriguez to stay on board.
“We are all here because we love our country, right? And we believe in our foundational principles,” she said in the beginning of her address to the staff. “We believe in freedom, and opportunity, and justice—not for some but for all.”
“So, over the next 106 days, we are going to take our case to the American people and we are going to win,” she said.
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives at campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 22, 2024. (Erin Schaff/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden Calls Campaign HQ Ahead of Harris’s Remarks
By T.J. Muscaro
As Vice President Kamala Harris prepared to address her new campaign staff, President Joe Biden called in to speak with the staff and implore them to turn their support to Ms. Harris.
He praised them for the dedication and sacrifices they made to help him with his reelection campaign and said that he didn’t know of a better campaign organization in his political career.
But, he said, stepping aside for Ms. Harris was the right thing to do.
“I’m hoping you’ll give every bit of your heart and soul that you gave to me to Kamala,” he said.
President Biden also assured his staff that “the name has changed the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all” and that he’s “not going anywhere.”
“I won’t be on the ticket, but I’m still going to be fully, fully engaged,” he said, adding that he will do “whatever Kamala wants me to do.”
He also expressed his commitment to completing his current term as president.
“I’ve got six months left in my presidency, and I’m determined to get as much done as I possibly can.”
Wisconsin Democratic Party Endorses Harris
By Jacob Burg
The Wisconsin Democratic Party endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as its new presidential nominee on Monday in a statement posted to X.
The party said its members voted unanimously to back Ms. Harris after President Joe Biden pulled out of the race on Sunday. More than 90 percent of Wisconsin’s delegates have already pledged their support for her ahead of the convention Aug. 19–22.
“Wisconsin Democrats are united, fired up, and ready to deliver Wisconsin for Kamala Harris!” the party wrote.
Harris Arrives in Delaware for Campaign Meeting
Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Delaware on Air Force Two just before 4 p.m. ET on July 22.
Upon arrival at Delaware Air National Guard station, she was joined by her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and the couple was greeted by Delaware Gov. John Carney as well as other Delaware Democrats.
The greeting list included Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), State Attorney General Kathy Jennings, Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock, and Mayor of Wilmington Mike Purzycki.
Harris Reports Raising $81 Million in First 24 Hours
The Harris campaign said on Monday that it had raised $81 million in the first 24 hours since the vice president announced her presidential bid on July 21.
Adding to the existing quarter of a billion-dollar war chest inherited from the Biden campaign, the money was raised through the Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and joint fundraising committees.
The Harris campaign said it received donations from more than 888,000 grassroots donors in the past 24 hours, 60 percent of whom “made their first contribution of the 2024 cycle.”
The campaign also added 43,000 new recurring donors since Sunday, with “over half of these recurring donors signing up for weekly donations.”
The Epoch Times is unable to independently verify the new numbers because the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing is not due until next month.
The $81 million outpaces the nearly $53 million that former President Donald Trump raised after his criminal conviction in Manhattan earlier this year. It’s also higher than the roughly $72 million that President Joe Biden raised in the first quarter.
Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue said it processed nearly $67 million in donations on July 21 alone and another $38 million through the mid-afternoon of July 22, according to a live donation tracker.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speak to the press after meeting with President Joe Biden and House Speaker at the White House in Washington on Feb. 27, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
Schumer, Jeffries Issue Joint Statement on Harris, No Endorsement Yet
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) issued a joint statement addressing Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign but left out any endorsement.
“Vice President Kamala Harris is off to a great start with her promise to pursue the presidential nomination in a manner consistent with the grassroots and transparent process set forth by the Democratic National Committee,” they said.
The leaders acknowledged that Ms. Harris is “rapidly picking up support from grassroots delegates” across the country.
Mr. Schumer and Mr. Jeffries said they look forward to meeting the new Democratic frontrunner shortly in person as they “collectively work to unify the Democratic Party and the country.”
Gov. Jared Polis on VP Possibility: ‘I’d Take a Serious Look at It’
As Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign gets underway, speculation of who could be her vice president choice ramps up, if she secures the nomination.
Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis, was asked whether or not he would accept the opportunity if offered during an interview on CNN on July 22.
He said that while he appreciated the question and that, “If somebody asked, I’d take a serious look,” he also said that his phone hasn’t rung yet.
He also expressed love for his current job.
“I love the job I’m doing,” he said. “I love Colorado.”
But, he added, “Look, they do the polling, and it turns out that they need a 49-year-old, balding, gay Jew from Boulder, Colorado, they got my number.”
Mr. Polis also expressed his excitement and endorsement for Ms. Harris and said he liked the idea of a governor as a running mate.
“I like the idea of governors,” he said. “They are executives, they’re ready to go, whether they bring a swing state, whether they bring a key demographic, I think it’s a great opportunity.”
Delegate Tracker: Harris Works to Secure 1,968 Delegates to Clinch Nomination
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event honoring National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship teams from the 2023-2024 season, on the South Lawn of the White House on July 22, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
After President Joe Biden’s unprecedented move to withdraw from the 2024 race so late in the election and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, she is actively working to secure the delegates he won during the Democratic primary.
Almost 4,000 delegates and 700 superdelegates will gather at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Aug. 19–22 to select the party’s presidential nominee. While President Biden won more than 3,800 delegates during the state primaries and caucuses, they cannot simply be transferred to another candidate, so Ms. Harris must secure support from at least 1,986 delegates to win the nomination.
By 5 p.m. ET on July 22, 901 pledged delegates had endorsed the vice president. By Monday afternoon, 12 unpledged delegates from Florida had also endorsed Ms. Harris.
According to Democratic National Committee rules, candidates must receive pledged support from at least 300 delegates to appear on the ballot at the convention.
Critically, many of the names that had been floated as potential replacements for President Biden on the 2024 ticket—including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear—had all endorsed Ms. Harris by Monday morning.
Tennessee became the first state to pledge all its eligible delegates to Ms. Harris, followed by South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Florida.
In Tennessee, the state’s Democratic delegates hosted a Sunday conference call before announcing that all 63 delegates would support Ms. Harris.
South Carolina’s 55 delegates to the Democratic National Convention met on Sunday night and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the new presidential nominee.
“South Carolina was the First in the Nation Democratic Presidential Primary on Feb. 3, 2024, where 96 percent of voters selected President Biden,” the delegation wrote on X.
After a historic shift away from the Iowa caucuses as the first in the nation within the primary cycle, South Carolina was the first state this year to host its Democratic primary.
South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain, who also chairs the state’s delegation, said in a statement that she appreciates the president’s “decades of service to the nation.”
“We must move forward in unity for the sake of democracy. By selecting President Biden in February, South Carolina Democrats also selected the Vice President for her ability to lead. Vice President Harris has been fully vetted, and she has earned our unwavering support,” Ms. Spain said.
Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, said all 168 of North Carolina’s delegates had endorsed Ms. Harris on Sunday in a post on X.
Ms. Clayton said the delegates “voted unanimously” on Sunday to endorse and “put our party’s full support behind the nomination” of Ms. Harris.
“I’m proud of our party,” Ms. Clayton said.
In New Hampshire, the state’s 25 pledged delegates hosted a meeting on Sunday before endorsing the vice president.
“We look forward to the National Convention in August and the next 107 days of campaigning for Vice President Harris and Democrats up and down the ticket,” the delegates wrote in a statement on X.
Florida became the fifth state and largest delegation to endorse Ms. Harris so far, with 224 pledged delegates backing her. According to a statement from Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, another 12 unpledged delegates are also supporting her.
“Florida Democrats are fired up and ready to elect Kamala Harris this November,” Ms. Fried said.
Louisiana’s 48 pledged delegates are also supporting the vice president after a call on Sunday night.
Maryland’s delegation is the most recent to officially endorse Ms. Harris. In a statement posted on X, state party chair Ken Ulman confirmed that all 81 of Maryland’s delegates voted unanimously to support the vice president.
“Vice President Kamala Harris possesses experience that uniquely qualifies her to serve as President of the United States, a strong track record of delivering for the American people on the heels of the Biden-Harris Administration, and the leadership to unite the party through this unprecedented time,” Mr. Ulman said.
A representative from the Alabama Democratic Party told The Epoch Times on Monday that all 52 of the state’s pledged delegates would endorse Ms. Harris for the party ticket.
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party (PDP) posted a statement to X stating that all 185 of its pledged delegates stand “united with elected Democrats from across the state in support of Harris.”
“There is a tremendous amount of excitement in seeing Vice President Kamala Harris become the nominee of the Democratic Party,” PDP Chairman Sharif Street said.
Bloomberg Honors Biden’s ‘Public Service,’ Does Not Endorse Harris
Mike Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City and a frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, celebrated President Joe Biden’s “lifetime of honorable public service” in a statement on Monday.
“Stepping aside from this campaign is an act of selflessness that only a great patriot would do,” Mr. Bloomberg said.
“No matter what happens in November, history will record that he put the country’s interests ahead of his own to defeat a candidate who has always put his own interests ahead of the country’s.”
Mr. Bloomberg, a major donor to the Biden campaign, said Democrats “now have a chance for a fresh new start.”
He added that “while some elected leaders and party officials make their endorsements, there are still four weeks before the party’s more than 4,000 delegates convene in Chicago.”
“That is more than enough time for the party to take the pulse of voters, especially in battleground states, to determine who is best positioned to win in November and lead the country over the next four years,” the former mayor said.
Mr. Bloomberg said there is no need to “get a resolution right away” because the “decision is too important to rush” and the “election is too important to lose.”
Gov. Moore ‘Not Interested’ in Vice Presidential Nomination
While speaking with reporters on July 22, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he is “not interested” in seeking the vice presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention.
“I have expressed that I love my job, and I have no intention of leaving,” Mr. Moore said.
He said Vice President Kamala Harris will have a “very personal decision” on a running mate, with “wonderful options” to consider.
“I just know that I do not plan on leaving, I have no intention of leaving, I love my job, and I want to stay as the governor of Maryland,” he added.
“I love the momentum we are seeing right now in the state of Maryland. I want to be the leader that helps continue pushing forward that momentum.”
Michigan Gov. Whitmer Not Interested In VP Slot
Shortly after endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, also confirmed that she did not want to be her running mate.
“I’m not planning to go anywhere,” Ms. Whitmer told Lansing, Michigan’s local CBS affiliate WLNS on July 22. “I am not leaving Michigan. I’m proud to be the governor of Michigan.”
People wait to enter Middletown High School ahead of Republican vice president nominee Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) rally in Middletown, Ohio, on July 22, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
Vance Set to Appear at First Solo Rally in Hometown
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio—Chants of “fight, fight, fight” and waves of red and blue Trump–Vance signs filled the Middletown High School auditorium leading up to Sen. JD Vance’s first solo rally as former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
Republican vice president nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) speaks at his first rally since nominated as vice president for former President Donald J. Trump in Middletown, Ohio, on July 22, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
Mr. Vance grew up in this industrial town midway between Cincinnati and Dayton in southwest Ohio. He wrote a book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” detailing his childhood in Middletown and Jackson, Kentucky. The book was brought to the small screen by director Ron Howard on Netflix. The book and the movie catapulted Mr. Vance to national prominence.
Florida and Maryland Democrats Commit Delegates to Kamala Harris
Democratic National Convention delegates from Florida and Maryland announced they have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as their 2024 presidential nominee on July 22.
“We wholeheartedly believe Vice-President Kamala Harris embodies the values and principles of the Democratic Party and is the most qualified Democrat to continue delivering for the American people,” Florida’s Democratic delegates said in a joint statement. “Her vision for America is one where everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, has the opportunity to thrive.”
Meanwhile, the Maryland DNC delegation announced it “met virtually and voted to unanimously endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 Democratic nomination for President of the United States.”
“Vice President Kamala Harris possesses experience that uniquely qualifies her to serve as President of the United States, a strong track record of delivering for the American People on the heels of the Biden-Harris administration, and the leadership to unite the party through this unprecedented time,” Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman said in the statement.
This decision follows Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s decision to back the vice president.
Delegates will cast their votes during the Democratic National Convention set to take place in Chicago on Aug. 19–22.
According to the Associated Press delegate survey, Ms. Harris already has more than 790 delegates at the time of this update, including 206 from Florida and 95 from Maryland—1,976 delegates are needed to win the nomination.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on July 20, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Pelosi Endorses Harris
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris “with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future” on July 22, stating that her support is “official, personal, and political.”
“Officially, I have seen Kamala Harris’s strength and courage as a champion for working families, notably fighting for a woman’s right to choose,” she said in her statement. “Personally, I have known Kamala Harris for decades as [someone] rooted in strong values, faith, and commitment to public service.
“Politically, make no mistake: Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute—and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”
Ms. Pelosi also praised President Joe Biden for his decision to exit the race and his record; she called for unity around defeating former President Donald Trump.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event honoring National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship teams from the 2023-2024 season, on the South Lawn of the White House on July 22, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Fetterman Endorses Harris
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on July 22.
He took to X in the early afternoon, posting a graphic that reads, “Let’s win this. Harris for President,” and stating he was “proud to support and be all in for the next president, Kamala Harris.”
The senator also shared a link to the Democratic PAC ActBlue, calling for more people to donate to the Harris campaign.
Mike Pence Praises Biden’s Decision
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Monday lauded President Joe Biden’s announcement not to seek reelection and said that both parties should tamp down the political rhetoric.
“President Joe Biden made the right decision for our country and I thank him for putting the interests of our Nation ahead of his own,” Mr. Pence wrote in a post on X.
“After the assassination attempt on President Trump and President Biden’s decision to end his campaign, now is a time for leaders in both parties to project calm and send a message of strength and resolve to America’s friends and enemies alike that, whatever the state of our politics, the American people are strong and our American military stands ready to defend our freedom and our vital national interests anywhere in the world,” he added.
Harris Praises Biden at NCAA Event
Vice President Kamala Harris took a moment to praise the work of President Joe Biden on July 22 during her remarks at an event celebrating the 2023–24 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams.
“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” she said.
President Joe Biden is still recovering from COVID-19, and Ms. Harris said, “he’s feeling much better and recovering fast, and looks forward to getting back on the road.”
This was Ms. Harris’s first speaking engagement since President Joe Biden announced that he is stepping aside and endorsing her as the Democrats’ 2024 nominee.
She said she first got to know the president through his son, Beau, who was her fellow attorney general at the time. She said that Beau Biden would talk about his dad and the kind of man he is.
“The qualities that Beau revered in his father, are the same qualities that I have seen every day in our president,” she said. “His honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart, and his love, deep love of our country.
“Our President Joe Biden fights for the American people, and we are deeply deeply grateful for his service to our nation,” she added.
Harris to Speak at Campaign Event
The White House confirmed Vice President Kamala Harris will appear at a campaign event later today.
Her daily schedule was updated at 11:38 a.m. today, stating, “At 3:10 p.m. ET, the Vice President will travel to Wilmington, Delaware, for a campaign engagement.”
This will be her first campaign event since President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election and endorsed Ms. Harris as the Democratic Party’s new presidential nominee.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event honoring National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship teams from the 2023-2024 season, on the South Lawn of the White House on July 22, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Harris to Make First Public Appearance after Biden Quits 2024 Race
Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday will deliver her first public speech since President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race. Less than 24 hours after the announcement, Democrats are coalescing around Ms. Harris, positioning her to clinch the nomination.
Ms. Harris will deliver remarks at a White House event celebrating the National Collegiate Association championship teams from the 2023-2024 season.
Democrat House Leaders Endorse Harris
Democratic House Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) announced their own endorsements of Vice President Kamala Harris for their party’s nominee for president.
Ms. Clark took to X with a simple endorsement, sharing a picture of her hugging the vice president with the caption “Team Harris.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Aguilar shared a longer official statement, saying, “I know Kamala to be a fierce advocate for working families and a tough-minded prosecutor who knows right from wrong.”
Mr. Aguilar also praised President Joe Biden’s “patriotic” decision to step aside, saying that it “only adds to his legacy as the most effective President in my lifetime and one of America’s greatest public servants.”
J.B. Pritzker Joins Midwestern Governors to Endorse Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris was endorsed by four midwestern governors as the Democratic Party presidential nominee, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“Vice President Harris has proven, at every point in her career, that she possesses the skills, strength, and character to lead this country and the vision to better the lives of all Americans,” he said in a statement on July 22. “From protecting women’s rights to defending American workers and strengthening the middle class, Vice President Harris is a champion of the American values we hold dear.”
The governor also said that he “will work hard to get her elected,” and he believes Ms. Harris is most qualified to be president.
Michigan Gov. Whitmer Endorses Kamala Harris
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose name has been regularly mentioned as a possible replacement for President Joe Biden in the 2024 race, posted a statement on X, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Today, I am fired up to endorse Kamala Harris for President of the United States,” Ms. Whitmer wrote.
“She’s a former prosecutor, a champion for reproductive freedom, and I know that she’s got Michigan’s back,” she added. “Vice President Harris has my full support.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Endorses Kamala Harris
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president in an official statement on the morning of July 22.
“The American people deserve a champion who will continue the progress of the Biden–Harris Administration, and that’s why I am proud to voice my full support and offer my full endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Nominee for president,” he said.
Mr. Moore went on to say that his decision “goes far beyond politics,” calling back to his interaction with the vice president after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in March.
“She made clear that the entire nation stood with Maryland as we confronted one of the worst tragedies in the history of our state,” he said. “In that moment, she demonstrated not just her powers of leadership, but also her powers of empathy.”
Rep. Phillips Calls for Competitive Democratic Primary Process
With President Joe Biden now out of the presidential race, one of his former rivals for the Democratic nomination is calling for a competitive process to select the party’s nominee.
While other Democrats—including the president—have begun to coalesce around Vice President Kamala Harris as the best candidate for the job, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who suspended his own campaign in March, wrote in a July 21 X post that he believes a “brief, transparent, competitive” selection process would “serve democracy, generate energy, and provide legitimacy” to the party’s eventual nominee.
In another post, he suggested conducting a straw poll among Democrat delegates and then inviting Ms. Harris and the other top three candidates to participate in a series of televised town halls before the nominee is selected.
Mr. Phillips has not indicated that he intends to renew his own efforts to clinch the nomination, nor has he endorsed Ms. Harris.
Manchin Confirms He’s Not Running
The day after President Joe Biden exited the presidential race, Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) confirmed that he would not be the new Democratic Party nominee.
“I am not going to be a candidate for president,” Mr. Manchin told CBS Mornings on July 22.
The senator also said he believes Vice President Kamala Harris, who immediately earned President Biden’s endorsement, is too far left and he would like to see a directional change.
He called for a “mini primary” in choosing President Biden’s replacement.
“I think a lot of people would like to see a mini-primary,” Mr. Manchin said. “That’s the process—find out if you have the strongest candidate, whether it could be Kamala or whoever else.”
Biden Drops Out of Presidential Race: What’s Next?
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take the stage at a campaign rally at Girard College in Philadelphia, Pa., on May 29, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden pulled out of the 2024 presidential race on July 21 and immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the new party nominee.
Even with his endorsement of Ms. Harris, the future of the party ticket is uncertain, and Democrats must now navigate an unprecedented shift late in the election year. Ms. Harris has announced her intention to “earn and win this nomination.”
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19–22 in Chicago, Illinois. Originally, the event would have been a coronation for President Biden as the Democratic nominee, but now the convention will see an open contest of nearly 4,700 delegates looking for a new challenger to pit against former President Donald Trump in November.
After Biden Exits 2024 Race, Harris Scores Commanding Endorsements
Vice President Kamala Harris waves during a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, N.C., on July 18, 2024. (Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)
Vice President Kamala Harris secured a commanding list of endorsements for her presidential nomination bid in the hours that followed the announcement from President Joe Biden that he is stepping out of the 2024 race.
The list of endorsements included the chairs of all 50 state party chairs, convention delegates from at least four states, and some of the biggest names in the party, including the Clintons, the governors of California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and Democrat mega-donor Alex Soros.
The growing coalition behind Ms. Harris, which started with the endorsement from the president, has all but assured her as the party’s nominee to face GOP nominee former President Donald Trump in November.
Biden Will Serve Remainder of His Term, White House Confirms
President Joe Biden arrives to speak during a campaign event in Detroit, on July 12, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
“He looks forward to finishing his term and delivering more historic results for the American people,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told news outlets in a statement.
Mr. Bates said that the president has already delivered strong economic growth and grown the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He said that the president’s agenda in the final months of the term includes lowering costs, creating jobs, and protecting Social Security.
“And he’ll keep fighting to protect Americans’ freedoms from radical abortion bans and attacks on the rule of law,” Mr. Bates said.
President Biden, whose term ends in January 2025, announced on social media on July 21 that he was pulling out of the 2024 race.
“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,” the president said.
He also said he was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
Following the announcement, some Republicans called for the president to resign.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately,” Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said in a statement.
Others said that Ms. Harris and administration officials should remove President Biden from office under the U.S. Constitution’s 25th Amendment. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she’d be introducing a resolution to that effect.
“If Joe Biden does not have the cognitive ability to seek reelection, he does not have the cognitive ability to serve the remainder of his term,” Ms. Mace said on social media.
The 25th Amendment lets the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members declare that the president cannot carry out his job. Such a declaration results in the vice president becoming acting president.
Other lawmakers, including Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), said during cable television appearances on July 21 that President Biden should remain in office for the rest of the term.
“I want him to be the president in the last five months of this presidency of his term to do what he can do is unite our country, to calm down the rhetoric, and be able to focus attention to peace in the world,” Mr. Manchin, a former Democrat, told CNN.
President Biden has no public events scheduled between July 22 and July 28, according to the White House press office. He was scheduled to receive his daily briefing on July 22.