The president’s move comes with just weeks left until the party’s convention in Chicago, potentially opening the door to chaos if other candidates decide to enter the race.

(Photo: Bloomberg)5 min read Last Updated : Jul 22 2024 | 7:44 AM ISTBy Akayla GardnerUS Vice President Kamala Harris launched a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination following Joe Biden’s exit from the 2024 race, seizing the endorsement of her boss to quickly become the party’s frontrunner.   “I am honoured to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement on Sunday.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump.” Biden, the oldest US president in history at 81, said earlier Sunday he would not seek reelection, reversing his decision after weeks of mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to end his bid.

A calamitous debate performance in June sparked a political nightmare for Democrats who feared Biden would not be able to keep Trump from returning to the White House. Biden endorsed Harris, 59, to be the Democratic nominee, saying she had his “full support.” The president and Harris spoke multiple times on Sunday before he announced his decision, according to a person familiar with the discussions. California Senator Laphonza Butler, a close Harris ally who advised her 2020 presidential campaign, said the vice president is making calls to members of Congress, governors, delegates and organisational leaders.

Butler said she spoke with Harris on Sunday, but declined to offer details of the conversation. “This is a sprint,” Butler said in an interview.

“She is making the calls to make sure that people know what she said in her statement: that she’s ready to earn this nomination.” The president’s move comes with just weeks left until the party’s convention in Chicago, potentially opening the door to chaos if other candidates decide to enter the race.  Harris — the first female, Black and Asian vice president — is popular with key parts of the Democratic base and could coalesce voter support.

The optics of passing over Harris would also be politically risky for the party, which relies heavily on turnout from people of color, including Black women. Celina Lake, a pollster who worked with the Biden campaign, said voters will be taking a fresh look at Harris now that she is running.

Lake believes Harris is well-positioned to energise crucial parts of the Democratic base, including young voters, women and people of color. “She has been persistently polling better with those groups to begin with,” Lake told Bloomberg TV.

“She’s a great candidate at just the right moment.” A number of prominent Democrats and liberal groups offered their support for Harris shortly after Biden’s announcement, including former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee in 2016, as well as progressive icon Senator Elizabeth Warren and major Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.  Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer does not intend to challenge Harris for the nomination, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Governor Gavin Newsom of California also does not plan to run against Harris, according to CBS News.

Newsom and Whitmer were both considered potential contenders for the nomination. Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said Sunday that the “American people will hear from the Democratic Party on next steps and the path forward for the nomination process.” Harris remains untested atop a ticket.

She ran for president in 2020 but ended her campaign before a single vote was cast.  Trump told CNN in an interview Sunday that he believes Harris will be easier to defeat.

Polls in recent weeks, however, showed Harris performing better against Trump head-to-head than Biden.  Her standing among swing-state voters has also improved after a shaky start to her tenure in office.

A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll conducted in July found that 77 per cent of Democrats said they would support Harris if Biden were no longer able to continue his campaign. The Biden campaign has charged its staffers with working to elect Harris, according to a source familiar with an all-hands call with the team on Sunday.

Biden’s campaign chairwoman, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, described Sunday as a day of anger and sadness in light of Biden’s dropping out, but expressed words of optimism for the vice president. Harris was the target of attacks earlier in the presidential race as polls showed voter unease over Biden’s age and fitness, with Republicans saying that a vote for the incumbent was a vote for his running mate. A major reason Harris emerged as the most practical successor to Biden was her legal ability to tap the campaign’s war chest.

She also carries the highest name recognition among possible alternative candidates. Some observers have expressed concern that immediately crowning Harris as the heir apparent could appear undemocratic, particularly given that Biden won the nomination during the primaries.

Some Democrats called for an open convention, where possible candidates could jockey for the nomination.

It’s unclear if other party figures, however, will challenge Harris. Will Jawando, a Democratic delegate from Maryland and former Obama administration official, said he would not support a so-called “mini-primary,” stressing the need for the party to unite with just three months until Election Day. “We don’t have time for that,” Jawando said.

“The only way Donald Trump wins is by us being divided at this moment and not getting behind the vice president.”First Published: Jul 22 2024 | 6:49 AMIST