Vice President Kamala Harris has already secured the endorsement of the vast majority of elected Democrats, just a day after President Biden made the stunning announcement that he was dropping his re-election bid. Few obvious challengers to her nomination remain, as the party anxiously looks to move past the divisions that have torn it apart for weeks.
Harris today earned the endorsements of several key Democratic governors, including JB Pritzker of Illinois and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who were seen as some of the last serious threats to her nomination. She also secured the backing of Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House, who continues to wield considerable influence in the Democratic Party. A few other key Democrats, like Barack Obama, have so far not endorsed Harris.
In her first 24 hours as a 2024 presidential candidate, Harris raised $81 million and took control of Biden’s enormous operation. Several celebrities also announced their support.
This morning, the vice president made her first public appearance since Biden ended his campaign. She praised Biden’s record as “unmatched in modern history,” while making a concerted effort to reintroduce herself to the electorate on her own terms. “One day down,” she later posted on social media. “105 to go. Together, we’re going to win this.”
Harris’s first big task will be choosing a running mate. The list of possibilities includes several governors and well-known Democrats; Eric Holder, a former attorney general, will lead the vetting process.
What’s next: As our chief political analyst, Nate Cohn, wrote, it won’t be easy for Harris to beat Donald Trump, in part because Biden’s age was not the only thing that voters said they were dissatisfied with.