After weeks of resisting calls to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he is ending his re-election campaign, which seemed doomed to failure since his poor performance in the debate with Republican Donald Trump.
Moments after sharing his decision to step down, Biden announced who he believes should take his place: Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I want to offer my full support and endorsement to Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year,” he wrote in X. “Democrats: it’s time to unite and defeat Trump.”
Harris accepted the endorsement and said she hopes to “deserve and earn” the nomination.
Biden’s decision to step aside came after at least 30 House lawmakers, five senators and several of the party’s top donors – including actor George Clooney – publicly urged Biden to drop out of the race amid concerns about his advancing age and polls showing Trump winning.
A series of opinion polls conducted since the June 27 debate suggested that Trump was taking the lead in key states.
His decision raises a question that must be answered now: who will be chosen for the Democratic nomination?
There are several candidates.
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
Vice President Kamala Harris was already in the running for reelection, making her an obvious and increasingly popular choice within the party to replace Biden.
As vice president, she has become theThe face of the government’s campaign to protect abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark ruling known as Roe v. Wade that guaranteed abortion rights nationwide.
Harris has proven to be a loyal ally of the president.
Days after the debate, as concerns grew about the president’s ability to stay ahead of the ticket, Harris reiterated her support for the president.
“Joe Biden is our candidate. We beat Trump once and we are going to beat him again. Period,” he said last Tuesday.
“I am proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate.”
Biden on Sunday offered similar support to Harris by endorsing her to take his place.
“My first decision as a party candidate in 2020 was to choose Kamala Harris as vice president,” he wrote in X. “And it has been the best decision I have ever made.”
Harris has the strong name recognition who comes from the job of vice president, but has had problems with low approval ratings throughout his time in office.
51% of Americans disapprove, while 37% approve, according to FiveThirtyEight polls.
Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan
Gretchen Whitmer is a two-term governor of Michigan. She is a Democrat from the Midwest. with great popularity and many political analysts speculate that he will run in the 2028 presidential election.
She has campaigned for Biden in the past and has not been shy about her political aspirations.
He told the newspaper The New York Times who wants to see a Gen X president in 2028, but stopped short of suggesting she could play that role.
In 2022, Whitmer led a campaign that allowed Michigan Democrats to win the state Congress and retain state government.
That political control helped her enact a series of progressive policiessuch as protecting access to abortion at the state level and passing gun safety measures.
Michigan is a key state in the November 5 elections.
Gavin Newsom, Governor of California
As governor of California, Gavin Newsom is one of the Biden administration’s most vocal supporters. He frequently appears on news networks praising the president.
But Newsom has his own political ambitions.
He is often mentioned as a possible candidate for 2028.but many Democratic pundits now say he could be the current president’s replacement.
In recent years, Newsom has become known nationally as one of the party’s top messengers in conservative media, including in a highly anticipated debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, last year.
It was one of the leading Democratic spokesmen after Biden’s poor debate in Atlanta in June, where he dodged several questions from the press about whether he would replace Biden.
This month, he traveled to Washington to meet with Biden and other top Democratic governors, and headlined a campaign rally for the president in Michigan on July 4.
In any case, Newson expressed his support for Vice President Harris on Sunday, so it is considered unlikely that he will run.
Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation
It’s no secret that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has presidential aspirations.
He ran in the 2020 presidential election, where he failed to garner enough support for the candidacy, but is often considered one of the best communicators of the Biden administration.
He has managed several public crises during his time as Secretary of Transportation.
He helped oversee the government’s response to the East Palestine train derailment in Ohio, the Baltimore bridge collapse and the Southwest Airlines flight scheduling crisis in 2022.
Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has enjoyed high approval ratings since being elected in 2022 in a swing state that Trump narrowly won in 2016.
Shapiro, who previously served as state attorney general, has worked without becoming entangled in partisan posturing during his tenure.
Last year he made national headlines after quickly rebuilding a collapsed bridge on a crucial Philadelphia highway, a important political victory for a governor in his first term.
The swift repair was hailed by many as the key infrastructure issue for a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Jay Robert Pritzker, Governor of Illinois
Known as JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois has increased his popularity in recent years with an open criticism of Trump and the defense of Biden.
The billionaire businessman – heir to the Hyatt hotel chain – is accustomed to posting criticism of Trump on social media.
After the June debate, she called Trump a “liar” and said he was a “34-time felon who only cares about himself.”
Like Governor Whitmer, Pritzker has managed to pass progressive laws on issues such as abortion rights and gun control.
Other possible candidates?
The list of potential nominees extends beyond these Democrats, as the party has developed a deep bench of potential future presidential candidates.
Kentucky Governor, Andy BeshearA two-term Democrat in a deeply conservative state, he has garnered increasing national attention since his re-election last year.
Maryland Governor, Wes Moorehas attracted attention in recent months following its response to the collapse of a key bridge in Baltimore.
The senators Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker They have run for president in the past and enjoy some recognition among Democrats.
The senator Raphael Warnockwho won a close Senate election in the swing state of Georgia, has also been mentioned as a possible replacement for Biden.
According to a Reuters IPSOS poll released on Tuesday, the only person who could beat Trump in November would be Michelle Obama.
But the former first lady has repeatedly said she has no presidential aspirations.
How will Biden be replaced?
Biden could have been forced to step aside by his own party, but instead he chose to do so on his own.
This makes the replacement process easier.
President had almost all Democratic delegates for the National Convention in August. Now, those delegates will have the freedom to vote for someone else.
Whoever wins the majority of delegates at the Convention will be the contender for the White House.
Democrats had planned to hold a roll call vote to formally select Biden as their party’s nominee before the convention, which begins Aug. 19. Whether that vote will be held is now up in the air.
Another issue to be resolved is Who will be the vice presidential candidate? and whether that position will go to one of the people being considered to replace Biden.
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- Joe Biden withdraws his re-election bid and endorses Kamala Harris for the US presidential election in November
- Who is Kamala Harris, the first female vice president in history and Biden’s favorite to replace him as the candidate for president of the United States?
- “It is in the best interest of my party and the country that I withdraw”: the letter with which Joe Biden withdraws his campaign for reelection (and gives his support to Vice President Kamala Harris)