WASHINGTON: Democrats rapidly coalesced around Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she raced to secure the party’s nomination to take on Donald Trump in November, in the wake of President Joe Biden’s sensational exit from the race. Armed with Biden’s endorsement, the 59-year-old won the backing of a flood of Democratic leaders on her first full day of campaigning.
Ahead of a first trip to campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, later Monday, Harris presided over a White House celebration for championship college basketball teams. She praised Biden as leaving a legacy "unmatched in modern history”. "Every day, our president, Joe Biden, fights for the American people and we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation,” she added. She did not reference her own sudden elevation to presidential candidate in the brief remarks. But the symbolism of the current vice president having the White House to herself in the absence of Biden, who is nursing a COVID infection at his Delaware beach house, was striking.
Earlier, a slew of heavyweight governors, including leaders once seen as potential hopefuls for the party’s presidential nomination, added their backing. "Let’s win this,” posted Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, announcing her support in tandem with the governors of Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, also declared his support, making him one of the favorites to be picked as Harris’s vice presidential running mate.
Harris must still win over some key holdouts if she is to wrap up the nomination, which could happen as early as August 1, although some Democrats are still calling for the party to show transparency with an open primary. America’s first female, black and South Asian vice president has a unique opportunity to unify the party after 81-year-old Biden’s historic decision to step aside from the nomination plunged the race into uncharted waters.
The stunning development has brought a jolt of energy to a demoralized party, transformed an election that threatened to turn into a long slog between two unpopular, elderly men, and could give America its first female president. Harris’ campaign said it had raised a stunning $49.6 million in grassroots donations in less than 24 hours since Biden endorsed her on Sunday.
Harris, dressed in a Howard University sweatshirt and eating pizza with anchovies, spent more than 10 hours Sunday placing calls to over 100 party leaders, members of Congress, governors and other figures, a person familiar with her schedule said. "On each of those calls, the vice president made clear that she... plans to work hard to earn the Democratic nomination,” the person said. She reportedly spoke to former president Barack Obama, one of those who notably has yet to endorse her.
The party has promised a "transparent and orderly process” to replace Biden, who bowed Sunday to Democratic concerns over his age and mental acuity following a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June. One possible rival to Harris, the independent senator Joe Manchin, who has long been a thorn in Biden’s side, on Monday ruled out registering as a Democrat and standing against her.
The instability is also hitting the Republicans hard, with Trump, 78, having to completely retool a strategy built around attacking Biden over his age and physical frailty. Harris’ entry not only flips the age issue but puts Trump — a convicted felon who has faced a series of legal cases over sexual assault — up against a woman and former prosecutor. Trump launched a series of invective-filled social media posts after Biden quit, mocking the president’s age and saying he and Harris posed a "threat to democracy”.
The challenges facing Harris remain daunting in a lightning-fast process. And the vice president has long suffered from poor approval ratings after a lackluster first two years in the White House. She is polling largely neck-and-neck with Trump in the few polls that have looked at a direct match up. That, however, could change as she campaigns, taking charge of her own image for the first time.
Potential convention delegates were being told to expect a vote on August 1 to put Harris’s name formally atop the ticket, more than two weeks before Democratic convention, CBS reported. Biden had spent more than three weeks resisting calls to step down but then dropped his bombshell without warning with a written statement on X. The veteran Democrat said it had been the "greatest honor of my life” to be president and promised to address the nation later this week, offering his "full support and endorsement” for Harris. – AFP