Harris sees clear path to nomination after Biden withdraws

WASHINGTON

Leading Democrats from across the country endorsed Kamala Harris as their party’s presidential nominee on Sunday, winning over a crowded field of candidates in the hours after President Joe Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race.

Party heavyweights who have long been seen as leading alternatives to challenge Donald Trump — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly — all announced or signaled their intention to endorse the vice president, joining Biden, who endorsed Harris shortly after ending his own re-election bid on Sunday afternoon.

The decision of so many Potentially formidable competitors to forgo a nomination fight reflected Harris’s innate strengths as she entered the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, less than a month away. Harris comes armed with a ready-made general election campaign she now inherits from her former running mate, a powerful war chest and party members eager to avoid prolonging an intraparty battle that has already derailed the candidacy of a sitting president.

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As of Monday morning, only one politician was reportedly considering a serious challenge to Harris’ nomination — and he’s not even a Democrat. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who declared himself an independent in May, has raised the prospect of reversing his party affiliation ahead of the nomination fight.

Several Democratic Party leaders on Sunday backed away from endorsing Harris. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama all praised Biden for leaving office, but went no further.

“We will navigate uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama said in a statement. “But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party can create a process that will produce an outstanding nominee.”

Groups aligned with Democrats on Sunday had their biggest fundraising day of the 2024 election cycle. But one major party donor — Vinod Khosla, a successful venture capitalist — wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was “seeking an open process at the convention, not a coronation.” The key remains who can best defeat Trump, he wrote, “above all other priorities.”

John Morgan, a major Democratic donor in Florida, said in a text message that he believes Biden’s support means Harris will be the nominee — but he doesn’t think she “has a chance.”

Morgan, who said a ticket with Manchin and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear would be more competitive, does not plan to raise money for a ticket with Harris as the leader.

“You have to be excited to ask friends for money,” he wrote. “I wouldn’t be excited.”

Still, with an open field before him, Harris has rushed ahead, making dozens of phone calls to lawmakers, governors and donors across the country. He has secured the support of top Democratic politicians including Georgia’s Stacey Abrams, New York’s Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and South Carolina’s Rep. Jim Clyburn, as well as key Democratic organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign.

“My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement from the Biden-Harris campaign, now registered under her name with the Federal Election Commission. “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, speaking to Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump.”

In a statement, former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — the first and only woman ever to secure her party’s presidential nomination — joined Biden in endorsing Harris, saying they “will do everything we can to support her.”

“Now is the time to support Kamala Harris,” they added, “and fight with everything we have to get her elected. The future of America depends on it.”

Lawrence Mower, a reporter in the Tallahassee Bureau of the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times, contributed to this report.