Nearly 160 Democratic lawmakers and governors endorsed US Vice President Kamala Harris for the party’s presidential nomination. Her nomination is expected next month as President Joe Biden exited the presidential race yesterday. He left this field under pressure from his party fellows after his performance was marked exceptionally poor in last month’s presidential debate and fundraising campaigns.
A former prosecutor and senator, Kamala Harris made history as the first Black woman to serve as vice president. Now, she can break another barrier as the favourite to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
Former President Barack Obama praised President Biden’s decision but called Harris the poor choice. He said,” The things will get more adverse in the coming times as Kamala Harris would prove worse than Biden in terms of performance.” Meanwhile, former President and US presidential race 2024 runner Donald Trump who last week survived an assassination attempt is happy over Kamala’s potential nomination.
Trump after Biden quits stated, “Kamala Harris will be easier to defeat than Joe Biden.” Biden following his decision to end his campaign endorsed Harris as the Democratic Party nominee which she accepted with pleasure. Trump said, “Biden is the worst president in the history of our country. He goes down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country.” However, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, and Governor Gavin Newsom, all supported Harris. Her growing support will make it doubtful that she will face a serious challenger at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is the latest progressive voice to back Harris. “I’m endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris because she’s ready to step up, bring our party together, go toe to toe with Donald Trump, and win in November,” she said adding, “Kamala has been a warrior on the issue of abortion. And under Kamala’s leadership, we are going get Roe V Wade back into the law of the land,” she added. Roe V Wade is a landmark ruling issued by the US Supreme Court in 1973 which recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion.
The top court, now led by a conservative majority, overturned that ruling in 2022, resulting in Republican-controlled legislatures in more than a dozen states imposing near-total abortion bans. The Biden-Harris campaign is now known as the “Harris for President” campaign. For Harris there still is a bit of a process to go through – She will be determined ultimately by an open convention process. The delegates who were assigned to Biden can choose whomever they want. For now, most think they will go to Harris.
Ilhan Omar – the Muslim-American congresswoman says she is “grateful” for Biden’s years of service. “I am thrilled to support Harris as our Democratic nominee will remain committed to defeating Donald Trump in November,” she said. Omar is considered one of the few Palestinian rights supporters in Congress.
Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020 said, “Kamala Harris is now the right person to take up the torch, defeat Donald Trump, and succeed Joe Biden as the US President.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a liberal Democratic congresswoman endorsed Harris. “I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November,” she said. “Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy.” Dozens of Democratic legislators are backing Harris, Lloyd Doggett has challenged the emerging consensus by calling for a competitive race for the nomination at the Democratic National Convention. “I continue to urge a fair, open, and democratic process to select the nominee best able to convince battleground voters to reject Trump’s dark, retribution-fueled plans,” Doggett said. “While, with Biden’s endorsement, Harris is the leading candidate, we should be open to all talented individuals, who wish to be considered.”
Colorado Governor Jared Polis is the possible challenger to endorse Harris. West Virginia Senator Manchin, who left the Democratic Party earlier this year to become an independent, said he was considering re-registering with the party to challenge Harris for the ticket. Manchin was one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress before his departure. The governor of California, the most populous state in the country, had been seen as a top contender to lead the Democrat’s ticket in November. He has now joined Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in endorsing Harris. “With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President Kamala Harris,” he said.
According to the reports, all 50 Democratic Party state chairs back Harris. The chairs held a conference call yesterday in this regard. Maxine Waters, a key congresswoman, cites Biden’s endorsement for the vice president in a statement backing Harris, calling the president a “kind and decent” man. “Kamala Harris has my full support,” he said. Rebekah Caruthers, vice president of the Fair Elections Center, said the Democratic party must make any nomination process as transparent and digestible to voters as possible. Regarding Harris, Caruthers said, she “can’t view this as a triumph or doing a victory lap.” “She has to show she’s willing to talk to people, willing to earn the nomination, because it is not a done deal,” she said.
Meena Bose, a professor of political science at Hofstra University, said that while it is risky to change candidates so close to the elections, a shake-up at the top of the Democratic ticket could boost the party’s chances. “A late change is not ideal, but may bring more optimism than no change at all, or at the very least might potentially be helpful down the ballot, if not in the presidential race,” Bose said.
Kondik said Biden’s endorsement makes a big difference. The president has the support of the overwhelming majority of delegates. And while they are not bound to back Harris, Biden’s backing could tip the scales in her favor. The vice president also has national name recognition and can inherit the Biden-Harris campaign infrastructure. Kondik called nominating Harris the “path of least resistance” for Democrats. Bose echoed that assessment, saying Harris is the most “logical choice” to ensure a “seamless transition.”
Hans Noel, a professor in Georgetown University’s Department of Government, said, “The vice-presidential candidate does not automatically become the presidential candidate, but I think a lot of voters would sort of expect that.” “Given that she’s in that position, there are a lot of reasons not to go to someone else. She does have a lot of support in the party, but more importantly, nominating someone else would look like skipping over a Black woman, which would not look good for many in the party.”
The rules for the Democratic National Committee state that delegates can propose a new party nominee if they obtain the signatures of 300 fellow delegates, along with a signature of confirmation from the proposed candidate. But the party will, in all likelihood, coalesce around Harris to present a united front. US presidential campaigns require massive investments of cash and manpower to reach people across the country.
The White House said that Biden, recovering from COVID-19, was working on the phone since ending his re-election bid. “Today the President has spoken to several Members of Congress, governors, and supporters, and will continue to engage with key stakeholders tonight and tomorrow,” the White House said in a statement. The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action says the US president will be remembered for his support for the Israeli “genocide” in Gaza. “It was not Biden’s failed debate that showed he is unfit to lead. It was the tens of thousands of bombs he sent to kill Palestinian families,” the group said in a statement. “It was his callous, dystopian disregard for Palestinian lives.” Meanwhile, Several Republicans connected Biden’s decision not to run for re-election to his ability to govern until the end of his term early next year, arguing the move is evidence he is not fit for office. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been pushing that argument, as has Representative Elise Stefanik. “If Joe Biden can’t run for re-election, he is not capable of serving as president for the next six months and needs to resign now.”
Biden plans to serve the remainder of his term in office, which ends on January 20, 2025. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while I have intended to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a statement. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” he said in another post on X. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump,” he wrote on X.
(By Rana Kashif)
