Democratic officials and donors back Harris after Biden drops out of US election race

Momentum appeared to be on the side of US Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as a wave of Democratic lawmakers, governors and financial donors voiced support for her to be the party’s presidential nominee in the November election, after the President Joe Biden will withdraw from the race.

Biden followed up his surprise announcement on Sunday by issuing his own support for Harris to face former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s candidate.

Harris, 59, quickly announced she would seek the nomination. She was a senator from the nation’s most populous state, California, when Biden chose her in 2020 as his running mate after Harris’ challenge to Biden and other primary contenders fell apart.

Her approval ratings in national polls have largely mirrored the president’s, but some surveys of likely voters show Harris doing slightly better than Biden against Trump and, in some, outperforming the former Republican president.

Harris said in a statement that Biden, by withdrawing from the race against Trump, “is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above all else.”

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party and unite our nation, to defeat Donald Trump,” he said. “We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”

ActBlue, one of the leading Democratic fundraising platforms, said Sunday night that it had raised $46.7 million in small donations for Harris’s campaign on Sunday alone. That contrasted with weeks of declining support for Biden, particularly among major donors, following his performance in a debate at the end of June against Trump.

The Association of Democratic State Committees said in a statement that an “overwhelming majority” of state party leaders endorsed Harris as the party’s nominee, with several abstaining for procedural reasons.

Sunday’s outpouring of support for Harris also included at least one member of Biden’s cabinet, the Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigiegwho said he would do “everything I can” to help elect Harris.

If Harris is accepted by the party to replace Biden, she would be the first Black and South Asian woman to become a major party presidential nominee in the 248-year history of the United States.

Biden’s announcement Sunday followed a growing call within the Democratic Party urging him to “pass the torch,” amid declining numbers in national polls and concerns raised by his debate performance. During the face-off, the 81-year-old president often appeared to lose his train of thought, failed to forcefully press his case against Trump, 78, or defend his own tenure in the White House.

Biden persevered, insisting he would not drop out of the race unless “the Lord Almighty” asked him to, if poll numbers showed he could not beat Trump a second time, or if his doctors advised him he was not physically able to continue.

“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country that I step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” he said in a statement Sunday. His term ends in January.

Biden said he plans to address the nation about his decision later this week.

Trump responded to the ad by attacking both Biden and Harris.

“Crooked Joe Biden was unfit to run for President, and certainly is unfit to serve and never was,” Trump wrote on social media, adding that Harris was just as bad as Biden.

“Harris will be easier to beat than Joe Biden would have been,” Trump told .

Many Republicans reacted by calling for Biden to resign as president.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is second in line to the presidential succession behind Harris, called on Biden to resign, saying that if he is unfit to keep his candidacy alive for another four-year term, he is also unfit to remain president until Jan. 20.

If Biden were to resign, Harris would be immediately sworn in as president, at least until the winner of the November election is inaugurated.

Names of other prominent Democrats have been floated as possible candidates in addition to Harris, including several state governors: Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker and California’s Gavin Newsom. Shapiro and Newsom both endorsed Harris on Sunday.

Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, both endorsed Harris in a statement. Obama, with whom Biden served as vice president for eight years, thanked Biden for his patriotism but did not indicate whether he was backing Harris or any other potential contender.

Media reports in the hours after Biden’s withdrawal cited sources close to Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, now an independent, saying he was considering rejoining the Democratic Party to try to replace the president at the top of the party’s ticket.

There are two ways for Democrats to replace Biden as the party’s standard-bearer.

One would be a virtual vote among delegates to next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago that would secure a new nominee in early August. This process would most likely favor Harris, avoiding conflict at the convention, scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in front of a national television audience.

The other way Democrats could choose a new nominee would be an “open” convention in which several candidates, including Harris, would seek the presidential nomination — a scenario the party has not experienced since 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson abandoned plans to run for reelection in the face of widespread opposition to his handling of the U.S. war against North Vietnam.

Some Democrats are suggesting the party quickly hold a “mini-primary” to allow Harris and anyone else to compete openly.

Biden has no public events on his schedule for Monday. The White House said details about his schedule for the rest of the week would be released at a later date. He was scheduled to meet with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli officials.

[Con información de The Associated Press y Reuters].

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.