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Vice President Kamala Harris has moved swiftly to attract Democratic delegates to her campaign for the White House after President Joe Biden stepped aside and gave her his endorsement on Sunday.
The president’s seismic decision to suspend his reelection campaign, prompted by long-running concerns about his health, fired the starting pistol on the race to find the Democratic candidate to replace him on top of the ticket.
In the hours after Biden’s announcement, Harris seized the initiative, saying she would accept his endorsement and fight to beat Donald Trump.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. 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,” she said in a statement.
“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.”
Prominent Democratic lawmakers, party leaders and public figures have already quickly lined up behind Harris.
But, her nomination is not a done deal – and so it is possible that other Democrats will challenge her for the party’s ticket.
So far, no one has announced that they will run against her for the Democratic nomination.
And insiders have said that it would be “political suicide” to do so.
On Sunday, CBS News’ Margaret Brennan said that she had heard from sources: “Anyone, I was told, looking to challenge her would be committing political suicide to try to go head-to-head after Joe Biden had been so key in making it very clear, just within minutes of announcing he was not going to seek reelection, that he was endorsing her.”
Brennan added that her sources said the real question is who Harris will pick as her own vice presidential candidate.
While no one has yet thrown their hat into the ring to fight Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin – a longtime centrist Democrat who in May left the party to become an Independent – had been rumored to be considering a run.
Unnamed sources told The Hill that Manchin, a frequent critic of the Biden administration, was mulling rejoining the Democratic party in order to rival Harris for the ticket.
But Manchin poured cold water on the report on Monday, telling CBS News: “I don’t need that in my life.”
Meanwhile, other Democrats who had been tapped as potential candidates to replace Biden on the ticket have all but ruled it out by endorsing Harris.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who had been accused of running a shadow campaign earlier this year, quickly endorsed the vice president on Sunday, writing on X: “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.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also seen as a potential rival, praised Biden in a statement and rapidly endorsed Harris, saying he has “seen her extraordinary leadership firsthand”.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer did not directly back Harris – but reportedly joined a campaign call on Sunday where she pledged her support behind the scenes.
She said on X: “President Biden is a great public servant who knows better than anyone what it takes to defeat Donald Trump. His remarkable work to lower prescription drug costs, fix the damn roads, bring supply chains home, address climate change, and ensure America’s global leadership over decades will go down in history.
“My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan.”
To secure the nomination, Harris will need the support of the 3,896 Democratic delegates who have already pledged their support to Biden during the primary contests.
She quickly won endorsements from the leadership of several influential caucuses and political organisations, including the AAPI Victory Fund, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.
Along with the Collective PAC, focused on building black political power, and the Latino Victory Fund, the heads of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the entire Congressional Black Caucus.
Former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton also threw their support behind Harris.
However, Democratic heavyweight Barack Obama has not yet publicly endorsed her.
