Democrats line up behind Kamala Harris after Biden drops reelection bid

Leading Democrats are voicing their support for Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday as their party seeks a nominee to replace President Biden in the 2024 race, now that he has taken himself out of the running. 

Mr. Biden endorsed Harris after announcing his decision to drop out, but he cannot personally appoint a Democratic nominee to fill his spot in the presidential race. Whoever is ultimately chosen will be determined through a vote by the delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which was set to happen virtually early next month. The convention begins Aug. 19.  

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” Mr. Biden said a social media post. “And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. 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.”

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among the pool of politicians to endorse Harris in the hours after Mr. Biden’s announcement.

“We join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished, standing up for America time and again, with his North Star always being what’s best for the country. We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her,” the Clintons said in a joint statement. 

“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. 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,” their statement continued. “Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who ran a presidential campaign of her own in 2020, also issued a statement backing Harris as the party’s potential nominee this year.

“I endorse Kamala Harris for President,” Warren’s statement read. “She is a proven fighter who has been a national leader in safeguarding consumers and protecting access to abortion. As a former prosecutor, she can press a forceful case against allowing Donald Trump to regain the White House. We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person who was chosen by the voters to succeed Joe Biden if needed. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November.”

Mr. Biden’s decision to end his campaign followed weeks of turmoil within the Democratic Party over whether he would be able to win reelection and serve another term, since his disastrous performance at the presidential debate in June opposite his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. 

Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a close Biden ally, wrote, “I echo the good judgment he demonstrated in selecting Vice President Harris to lead this nation alongside him, and I am proud to follow his lead in support of her candidacy to succeed him as the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee for President.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose name was sometimes floated as a potential candidate himself, threw his support behind Harris.

“Tough. Fearless. Tenacious. With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris,” Newsom posted on social media.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ran in the 2020 primaries, posted on X, “I will do all that I can to help elect @KamalaHarris the next President of the United States.”

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have 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 to this campaign, the receipts. … She is someone that knows the work, knows the job. And I also know her as a good person.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, tweeted her support, writing: “Vice President @KamalaHarris just called me and I told her I am 1000% in for her to be our President! She has the smarts, the experience, the accomplishments and the agenda to lead us to victory in November. Let’s go!”

The political arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, CBCPAC, came out in support of Harris, as did as 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,” said CBCPAC chairman Rep. Gregory Meeks and caucus chairman Rep. Steven Horsford in a statement. “She has been instrumental in delivering the accomplishments of the last 3.5 years and has led on lowering maternal mortality rates, protecting reproductive freedoms, and ensuring economic opportunities for all. She will do an excellent job as president of the United States.”

Harris said that she plans to “earn 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 my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in the statement. “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do 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 endorsed Harris yet

Other powerful Democratic figures, like former President Barrack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, commended Mr. Biden in the wake of the withdrawal but did not endorse Harris outright. 

Obama released a lengthy statement in which he praised Mr. Biden, his former vice president, as “a patriot of the highest order” and “one of America’s most consequential presidents.” His statement did not mention Harris or anyone else as a potential replacement on the Democratic ticket. 

The major Democratic leaders in Congress, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both issued statements that did not mention Harris.