WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Sunday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris become the fresh Democratic presidential candidate, passing the baton to a California native who has spearheaded the administration’s initiatives on reproductive rights and gun control.
Harris, a former U.S. senator from California who sought her party’s presidential nomination in the 2020 primary, is 59 and will represent a fresh generation at the top of the candidate list after Biden, 81, withdrew from the race under pressure from Democratic leaders following a disastrous debate performance in overdue June.
Harris, the nation’s first female vice president, now has a chance to become the nation’s first female president, depending on the Democrats’ decision. She is also the first black vice president and the first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.
Some in the party publicly floated her as a potential successor to Biden after the debate. Biden initially declined end his re-election bid despite growing calls within the Democratic Party for him to step down. He stepped down on Sunday.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year. Democrats, it’s time to unite and defeat Trump. Let’s do it,” Biden said in a post on Sunday. X.
Political initiatives
During her time as vice president, Harris became a leading voice in the administration’s fight on reproductive rights and abortion access — often seen as Democrats’ strongest issue since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, ending nearly a half-century of federal constitutional abortion rights.
Harris launched “The Fight for Reproductive Freedom” tour in early 2024, taking her to several swing states. And after the tour Planned Parenthood in Minnesota, Harris was believed to be the first sitting president or vice president to visit an abortion clinic.
Harris has also focused on firearm safety during her term as vice president. In March, she announced the launch of the National Extreme Risk Protection Resource Center to assist states, local governments and others “optimize their use of red flag laws,” according to White House.
She also called on states to pass so-called red flag laws, which enable law enforcement petition civil courts to take away firearms from people who may pose a danger to themselves or others — and exploit funds from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to “help implement laws already enacted.”
The administration was in favor Bipartisan Safer Communities Actwhich Biden signed into law in June 2022. The measure was considered the most comprehensive federal gun safety law for almost 30 years.
She was also a fierce opponent, alongside Biden and other Democrats, Project 2025 — a nearly 900-page document from the Heritage Foundation that proposes a sweeping conservative agenda if former President Donald J. Trump is elected. Although Trump has moved away from the platformSome former members of his administration helped write it.
Harris also has drawn criticism on both sides of the fence for her immigration efforts. Biden I tracked her down in 2021 to assist address the “root causes” of migration in Central America.
She visited US-Mexico border in June 2021, following stops in Guatemala and Mexico earlier this month. It was her first foreign trip as vice president.
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Republicans have repeatedly called it a “border tsar,” even though it focused on the “root causes” of migration in Central American countries.
During the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida was one of several speakers to call her the “border czar,” adding the sarcastic comment that “appointing Kamala Harris to be the border czar is like appointing Bernie Madoff to be the overseer of your retirement plan.”
Harris also holds the record for the most tie-breaking votes seated in the US Senate.
Public opinion research and perception
Since the repercussions of the June 27 debate lots of polls have presented mixed results as to whether voters would choose Harris over Trump if the two were in conflict with each other.
Some Economist/YouGov poll conducted between 13th and 16th July shows both Harris and Biden slightly behind Trump, and Biden did slightly better than Harris.
Just 39% said they would choose Harris, compared to 44% who would vote for Trump. Similarly, 41% said they would vote for Biden, compared to 43% who chose Trump.
Since mid-July her approval ratings also seemed a little uninteresting – 50.4% of Americans disapproved it, while 38.6% supported it.
California Background
Before becoming vice president, Harris served as a U.S. senator from California from 2017 to 2021. With a long career in law enforcement, she served as attorney general of California and was also the district attorney for San Francisco.
Harris sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 but ultimately withdrew her candidacy months later and endorsed Biden. She withdrew before the Iowa primary, ending her candidacy in December 2019, despite initially being seen as a leading Democratic candidate.
She was born in Oakland, California in 1964. immigrant parents. She is married to Doug Emhoff, who is the first Jewish wife of a US president or vice president, according to White HouseHe is also the first second gentleman in US history.
Harris is a graduate Howard Universityhistorically black institution, and earned a law degree from the University of California, Hastings.
