Washington — Just months before the November election, after President Joe Biden made the groundbreaking decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, Democrats quickly nominated Vice President Kamala Harris as their nominee. This is a volatile and fast-moving political situation.
He staunchly endorsed Harris immediately after Biden’s departure, making history as the first Black and South Asian woman to run for president on a major party platform. Other endorsements came from former President Bill Clinton, the first major female presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, prominent U.S. senators, a broad range of House members, and members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus.
Those who were about to run for that seat immediately became Harris supporters.
As Democrats organize to take on Republican Donald Trump this fall, Biden said choosing Harris as his vice president was the first and “best decision” he ever made. “Let’s do this,” he said.
“My intention is to be nominated and to win this award,” Harris said in a statement.
But the political and logistical picture for the Democratic Party’s future remains uncertain. The party, which initially hoped to run in November by portraying Trump as a quasi-authoritarian leader and a threat to American democracy, now has just a few weeks to regroup before its nominating convention, which begins on August 19.
There seemed to be growing public support for Harris to lead the party. Within hours, Biden’s campaign officially changed its name to President Harris, indicating that she would take over Biden’s political operations, but there was notable resistance.
Former President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who are widely credited with manipulating Biden into dropping out of the race, have not publicly supported Harris for fear of not only keeping the White House but also control of Congress, and Pelosi favors an open primary to strengthen the power of whoever ultimately gets nominated.
And West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party earlier this year to become an independent, is considering re-registering as a Democrat to run for the vice presidential nomination, according to his longtime adviser Jonathan Kort.
Leading Democrats believe Harris would benefit from what some are calling a “mini-primary.” They argue that a quick primary campaign would show the American people, party donors, and skeptics that Harris is the best candidate for the job, and give potential rivals a chance to compete—or at least debut as a potential running mate.
Harris has been calling members of Congress all day to get their support, including Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, chair of the New Democrats Coalition, a moderate bloc on Capitol Hill, who endorsed Harris on Sunday. Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke Sunday afternoon, according to a person who asked not to be named to discuss the private conversation.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison promised a “transparent and orderly process.”
With early voting in the coming months, Democrats have no time to waste if they want to compete with a revitalized GOP that has embraced Trump’s return. They need to pivot quickly to unify a shaky Democratic Party, refocus the entire campaign organization around a new presidential candidate, and organize a ground war to get out the vote.
The Trump team faces the task of constantly shifting the focus of its attacks from Biden, who is 81 years old and has the physical and governing skills to the Democratic nominee who is yet to be nominated. Harris is increasingly likely to be the nominee. Among the leading contenders, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said she will not run, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper all endorsed Harris on Sunday.
“She has the capacity to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country with care and integrity,” Cooper wrote on social media.
Even before Biden’s announcement, Republicans had signaled an early strategy of criticizing Harris for colluding in supporting him despite her mistakes, and were preparing legal challenges to her 2024 bid.
“Not only has Harris been a disaster in the White House, she has also helped cover up Biden’s declining health while in office, which destroys her credibility,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Watley and Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump said in a statement.
Despite Biden’s endorsement of Harris, there has been lively discussion about her rise among key Democratic figures — lawmakers, deep-pocketed donors and former senior officials from the Biden, Obama and Clinton administrations — according to a Democratic official with deep ties to the Biden-Harris administration.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations, said the mini-primary would help Harris establish herself as a strong, sharp candidate and help diminish criticism that she was elected undemocratically—a criticism that the Trump campaign has already tried to use against her.
But the party could not have skipped her historic run if several Democratic allies and lawmakers had not immediately supported Harris’s nomination.
Washington Sen. Patty Murray said she supported Harris “100 percent.” Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said Harris “has the experience, energy and determination to lead our country.” Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said he would “strongly support my friend.”
Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and California Sen. LaFonza Butler have also announced their support for Harris, a former U.S. senator, and a growing number of House Democrats have expressed their support as well.
Yet other Democrats have remained silent on supporting Harris or pushing for an open process.
Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch told The Associated Press that he believes the party “needs to make a decision about who best represents us in order to defeat Trump.”
Donors are speaking out. Chad Griffin, a member of the campaign’s national finance committee and a top Democratic fundraiser in the Los Angeles area, said the party is lucky to have Harris. “She is the trusted and proven leader we need to lead us to victory in November,” he said in a statement.
What was supposed to be Biden’s coronation has now been transformed into an open primary where about 4,700 delegates will choose a new leader.
Biden won every state primary and convention earlier this year, losing only the territory of American Samoa. At least 3,896 delegates have pledged their support to him.
Current party rules do not allow Biden to switch to another candidate, but politically his endorsement would likely be very influential.
Harris must now secure the support of more than 4,000 delegates from every state, territory and the District of Columbia, as well as about 700 so-called superdelegates, including party leaders, some elected officials and former presidents and vice presidents.
__ Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Mary Claire Jalonic, Amer Madani, Seungmin Kim and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.
