Sunday afternoon, President Joe Biden announced that he was withdrawing from the presidential race, though he intends to serve out the remainder of his term. In a letter released to the press, at approximately 1:46 p.m. eastern standard time, he wrote, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, 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.” He added, “I will speak to the Nation later.”
President Biden praised Vice President Kamala Harris for her role in his administration; however, he did not mention in his initial letter whether or not he would endorse Harris to replace him in the race for President against former president and official Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and his pick for a running mate Senator J. D. Vance (R-OH).
“I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work,” Biden wrote. Less than a half an hour after the letter was released, Joe Biden followed up with a social media post endorsing Harris to replace him in the race for President.
While over 37 Democratic congressional members publicly asked Joe Biden to leave the race following his performance debacle in the Presidential debate with Trump at the end of June, The Congressional Black Caucus never did.
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) was the first member of the Black Caucus to call for him to step aside on Friday, July 19. Political strategist Cornell Belcher, who has worked as Senior Political Advisor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), as well as Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC), expressed deep concern that if the calls by some Democrats in the U.S. Congress for Biden to leave the race led to the circumventing of Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement that it would likely cause deep fissures in the Democratic party along racial lines, seriously jeopardizing Democrats ability to beat Trump in this November presidential election.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.” wrote Biden.
Harris released a statement shortly after, “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with 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 and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
“We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight And together, we will win,” stated Harris.
Congresswoman Cori Bush was among the first Democrats to also back a Harris run for president. Other endorsements came quickly for Harris.
Former president and first lady Bill and Hillary Clinton: “We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her,” they wrote in a shared statement.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts: “I endorse Kamala Harris for President,” she wrote. “She is a proven fighter who has been a national leader in safeguarding consumers and protecting access to abortion.”
Sen. Adam Schiff from California: “The stakes are high, and we must focus all our energy on electing Kamala Harris and defeating Donald Trump,” he wrote.
Rep. Jim Clyburn from South Carolina: “I echo the good judgment [Biden] demonstrated in selecting Vice President Harris to lead this nation alongside him,” he said. “I am proud to follow his lead in support of her candidacy to succeed him as the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee for President.”
By Tuesday morning, the majority of DNC delegates also endorsed Harris. Kamala Harris’ campaign raised over $80 million within 24 hours of Harris announcing her intention to win the nomination. This broke a record for the most money raised for campaign funding in a single day by a U.S. presidential candidate.