WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris has a clear path to the Democratic nomination Monday, as she secured endorsements from potential rivals and other influential party members a day after President Joe Biden was sworn in. ended his re-election bid.
In the 24 hours since Biden’s unscheduled announcement on Sunday afternoon, a slew of Democratic legislative leaders, governors — including some seen as having presidential ambitions of their own — and influential labor unions and key outside groups have expressed support for her, while no sedate challenger has emerged.
In Harris’ first public appearance since Biden’s announcement and endorsement, the vice president met with college sports champions at the White House. She began her brief speech by paying tribute to Biden, who, while recovering from COVID-19, was “feeling much better” on Monday, she said.
“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishments over the last three years is unmatched in modern history,” she said. “In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who served two terms.”
Campaign workers greeted Harris with cheers Monday afternoon as she visited campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, according to video from the Washington Post. The video shows a California flag hanging in the campaign office, and signs reading “Kamala” and “Harris for President” were placed on the walls next to “Biden-Harris” posters.
During a visit to campaign headquarters, Biden called and told staff that he understood the news of his withdrawal from the race was “difficult for you to accept, but it was the right decision.”
“The name changed early on in the list of candidates, but the mission didn’t change at all,” Biden said, adding that Harris will hit the campaign trail after recovering from COVID-19.
“People were shocked, and some workers cried,” a White House reporter wrote.
Pennsylvania Democratic Party delegates unanimously endorse Harris for president
Harris thanked her campaign staff and acknowledged the tough work the campaign has put in leading up to the November election.
“For the next 106 days, we will make our case to the American people, and we will win,” Harris said.
Several key Democrats had not publicly endorsed it by Monday afternoon. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and former President Barack Obama did not express support.
Jeffries told reporters that he and Schumer plan to meet with Harris “soon.” Although Jeffries did not endorse Harris, he said she “excites the House Democratic Caucus and excites the entire country.”
Democratic congressmen line up behind Harris
But support poured in from the Capitol.
Top Democrats in Congress, such as the No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and the No. 2 House Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, also threw their support behind Harris early Monday morning.
Former California House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that she supports Harris and noted her work on reproductive rights — an issue Democrats have focused their campaigns on since Roe v. Wade.
“Politically, make no mistake,” Pelosi said. “Kamala Harris is brilliantly as a woman in politics — and I have every confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”
The chairwoman of the House Democratic Campaign Council, Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, also expressed her support for Harris.
Harris also won the support of all House Democratic leaders, who are influential members of congressional caucuses.
They include Representatives Steven Horsford of Nevada of the Congressional Black Caucus, Nanette Barragan of California of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Pramila Jayapal of Washington of the Progressive Caucus and Judy Chu of California of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Obama holds back
Obama has not yet endorsed Harris, but in a lengthy statement Sunday he said he has “extraordinary confidence in the leadership of our party to create a process that will produce an outstanding candidate.”
Similarly, in 2020, the former two-term president waited until Biden was formally nominated by the Democratic National Committee before throwing his support behind him.
DNC will continue the process formally nominate a presidential candidate on Wednesday when its Rules Committee meets in a public virtual session, as part of ongoing efforts to organize a virtual roll-call vote ahead of the convention next month in Chicago.
As of Monday afternoon, no sedate challenger to Harris’ nomination had emerged, as independent Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said in a morning interview with MSNBC that he would not seek the Democratic nomination.
Governors back Harris
After Biden endorsed Harris, several Democratic governors did too offered their support for the vice president, including governors It was speculated be among Harris’ vice presidential candidates and potential rivals for the nomination.
Governors of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Andy Beshear, North Carolina Roy Cooper, Maryland Wes Moore and Illinois JB Pritzker expressed their support a day after Biden withdrew from the race.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would bring a battleground state and political savvy to the national election
Beshear announced his support for Harris in a television interview Monday morning. I wouldn’t say whether he would like to join Harris’s ballot, but in a statement on X said the vice president “will unite our country and help us overcome the politics of anger we have seen in recent years.”
By Monday afternoon, every Democratic governor in the country had pledged their support, including Jared Polis of Colorado, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Laura Kelly of Kansas, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Katie Hobbs of Arizona, Janet Mills of Maine, Jay Inslee of Washington state, Tina Kotek of Oregon, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island and Maura Healey of Massachusetts.
States Parties Plan Next Steps
Several state parties endorsed Harris or indicated they would support her.
North Carolina Democrats he voted to support Harris, NC Newsline reported.
At Beshear’s request, Kentucky Democrats he voted “overwhelmingly” supported Harris, the Kentucky Lantern reported.
New Hampshire State Party connected for Harris at Sunday night’s meeting, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin.
Maine Democrats are scheduled to meet Monday evening and will likely take place consider the proposal to switch party support from Biden to Harris, the Maine Morning Star reported.
Advocacy groups
Several influential Democratic advocacy organizations announced their support for Harris.
Emily’s List, which aims to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, he tweeted his support on Sunday.
The LGBTQ rights group Human Rights Campaign also supported Harris, noting her early support for marriage equality and other work on LGBTQ issues.
UnidosUS, a group fighting for Latino civil rights, also supported Hello Harris.
Gen-Z for Change, previously called TikTok for Biden, has abstained from supporting the president over his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, in which more than 39,000 Palestinians died. However, shortly after Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, the organization endorsed Harris.
The political action committees of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus also endorsed Harris.
Several unions step into action
Harris also won endorsements from several unions within a day of announcing her candidacy for office. The Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million service workers, including health care, real estate and public utilities, announced its endorsement of Harris on Sunday.
In written form statement, SEIU President April Verrett said that “SEIU is FULLY BEHIND” Harris and that the vice president “has made sure to use every avenue of government to do everything possible to improve things for working people.”
The American Federation of Teachers unanimously supported Harris Sunday. AFT represents 1.7 million educational professionals nationwide, from teachers and paraprofessionals to school health workers and college professors.
The United Farm Workers also quickly switched its support from Biden to Harris on Sunday afternoon. The union said it “could not be prouder to endorse her for President of the United States” in a written statement statementciting her support for farm workers while serving as attorney general and senator in California.
The SEIU, AFT and UFW endorsed Biden in the 2020 presidential election and again this year before he dropped out of the race.
The International Brotherhood of Commercial Teamsters has not endorsed Harris for president but has invited him to a roundtable with rank-and-file members. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention last week. The union endorsed Biden in 2020 but has not endorsed his candidacy. re-election This year.
Interestingly, the UAW has not announced its support for Harris. Biden he went picket line in Michigan during the historic autoworker protests last September. The UAW thanked Biden for his service in statement Sunday.
