When American President Joe Biden decided to withdraw from the presidential race on July 21st, he also took the equal initiative of giving Vice President Kamala Harris his “full support and endorsement” in her bid to become the Democratic nominee and beat Donald Trump in November.
Harris declared, “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is already the first woman and woman of color to be vice president, has an additional opportunity to create history. Harris declared her intention to run and that her goal was to secure the Democratic nomination. Since then, she has been the frontrunner after gaining the support of numerous prominent Democrats, such as megadonor George Soros, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would not seek the presidential nomination on Monday.
The Clintons released a statement saying, “We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her.”
According to a filing with the Federal Elections Commission, Biden’s campaign fund was renamed “Harris for President” on Sunday. The campaign is reported to have almost $96 million in cash on hand as of Saturday. Additionally, supporters of a younger candidate who had stopped supporting Biden due to an age factor might resume donations.
Democrats’ pressing need to unite and switch the spotlight back to Trump—whom they see as an existential threat to American democracy—may also work to Harris’ advantage.
Late on Monday, delegates from different states, including Texas and California, where Harris is originally from, met to reaffirm their support for her. According to the AP count, by Monday night, Harris had 1,976 delegates in her corner than she would need to win in the first round.
The task ahead of Harris is tremendous and unparalleled, with the election in November less than a hundred days away. Republicans have united in support of Trump after an attempted assassination, which seems to have reinforced his position while Democrats descended into a bitter dispute about Joe Biden’s suitability to serve for the second time.
Article by Lena Ndolo
