Biden endorses Kamala Harris after dropping out of the race
President Joe Biden (left) and Vice President Kamala Harris (right)
Minutes after announcing his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” Biden wrote. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
The endorsement provides Harris a big boost, but may not entirely stave off a convention fight in August.
Another Democratic candidate could seek to challenge Harris for the nomination, attempting to woo the party’s more than 4,000 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
Some politicians have explicitly called for that, including Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who said he wanted to see an “open process” to determine the new nominee as he called for Biden to step aside earlier on Sunday.
There are an array of other Democrats who have been seen as potential contenders in the event that Biden steps aside, including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
But Harris will have to select a new running mate, and it’s possible that she may choose one of these candidates to serve as her vice presidential nominee.
Several Democrats have already said that they would like to see the party get behind in Harris in the event that Biden dropped out.
On Sunday, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado posted a coconut and palm tree emoji — a reference to the pro-Harris memes that have cropped up in recent weeks.
