Vice President Kamala Harris said she plans to seek the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed her, setting up a push that could make her the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead the ticket of a major political party.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in a statement.
Biden’s historic endorsement — and Harris’s pledge to unite the party behind her —came Sunday after he announced that he is dropping his reelection bid following weeks of disarray within the Democratic Party. The president’s disastrous debate called into question his ability to win a second term and govern for another four years.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee,” Biden said.
Still, despite the president’s backing, it remains unclear if Harris will become the nominee, or what process the Democratic Party would take to select an alternative. It will now be up to the delegates to the party’s national convention to choose their candidate. While Harris allies have sought to secure her path to the nomination, some Democrats have stopped short of backing her or explicitly called for an open nomination process.
Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement that in the coming days the party will “undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”
Logistically, Harris is the natural heir to the ticket as Biden’s running mate.
The Biden-Harris campaign on Sunday formally amended filings with the Federal Election Commission to rename its principal committee “Harris for President,” saying that the committee name is “different than previously reported.”
The committee also filed a letter with the commission stating that “Vice President Harris is now a candidate for United States President in the 2024 election and will henceforth be conducting campaign activities only in pursuit of that office.”
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