Harris top contender to replace Biden as nominee
Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be the leading candidate to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee in the 2024 election, after the president dropped his reelection bid amid rising concerns about his age following his debate with former President Donald Trump.
Biden emphatically endorsed Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee in a social media post Sunday shortly after announcing his decision to step out of the 2024 race.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden said in a post on X.
Harris, 59, said Sunday she will seek the Democratic presidential nomination.
She also received endorsements from Bill and Hillary Clinton. The former president and the former secretary of state pledged to do “whatever we can” to support Harris.
“We’ve lived through many ups and downs, but nothing has made us more worried for our country than the threat posed by a second Trump term,” the Clintons said in a joint statement. “He has promised to be a dictator on day one, and the recent ruling by his servile Supreme Court will only embolden him to further shred the Constitution. Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it.”
By Sunday evening, the list of Democratic lawmakers endorsing Harris included California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina and Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent who left the Democratic Party in May, reportedly had considered registering again as a Democrat and seeking the party’s presidential nomination after Biden announced he
won’t run for a second term. But Manchin told CBS News on Monday he’s not running. “I’m not going to be a candidate for president ...,” he said. “I don’t need that in my life.”
If formally nominated, Harris would become the first Black woman at the top of a major party presidential ticket. She has served as Biden’s vice president for more than three years and before that represented California in the U.S. Senate.
Harris is not the only person who has been floated as a potential replacement for Biden on the ticket. The Democratic Party will not officially name its presidential nominee until its convention in August.
Top contenders – governors Newsom, Beshear, Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – have all publicly endorsed Harris in an immediate show of support for her campaign. Beshear said Monday he won’t seek the Democratic presidential nomination.
If Harris is chosen to lead the Democratic ticket, the former prosecutor will need to choose another vicepresidential nominee.
Contributing: Michael Collins and Rachel Barber, USA TODAY