It’s a whole new race!
President Joe Biden’s game-changing decision Sunday to end his re-election bid and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him atop the Democratic ticket completely reshapes the 2024 presidential contest in ways that are far from clear right now. Don’t believe anyone who tells you they know how things will play out from now until November.
What is clear is that Democrats have quickly coalesced around the 59-year-old Harris, who has gotten the endorsements of hundreds of the party’s elected officials, including virtually all those who had been considered potential challengers for the presidential nomination.
At least 221 Democratic members of Congress have publicly backed Harris, as have more than 20 Democratic governors, including Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Gavin Newsom of California, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
A fundraising boost: The party’s base and donor class appear to have quickly been re-energized by the change of candidate. Harris’s team said Monday that it raised a record $81 million in the 24 hours since Biden dropped out, with the money pouring into the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees. The campaign said more than 880,000 grassroots donors had contributed, with 60% of those donors chipping in for the first time in this election cycle.
“The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,” campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz reportedly said in a statement.
Praise for Biden: In her first public appearance since Biden withdrew, Harris praised his record as president. “Joe Biden's legacy over the last three years is unmatched in modern history,” she said at a White House event celebrating champions of college sports. “Every day, our president, Joe Biden, fights for the American people and we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation."
Influential former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who helped persuade Biden to step aside, also praised the president Monday as she joined those endorsing Harris. “As one of our country's most consequential presidents, President Biden has been not only on the right side of history, but on the right side of the future,” she said in a statement. “Now, we must unify and charge forward to resoundingly defeat Donald Trump and enthusiastically elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.”
Republicans launch new attack lines: The Trump campaign reportedly has been preparing for weeks for the possibility that Harris could replace Biden, and it has already gone on the attack, criticizing Harris’s role in the Biden administration’s immigration policy and other areas. Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, questioned Harris’s patriotism. “If you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it, you should feel a sense of gratitude,” he said. “And I never hear that gratitude coming through when I listen to Kamala Harris.”
The bottom line: Harris is moving swiftly to lock up the 1,976 delegates she needs to secure the nomination — and she’s reportedly more than halfway there already. As Democrats line up behind her, the Republican attacks are already heating up and are sure to get more vitriolic.
