Vice President Kamala Harris was closing in Monday on securing the Democratic delegates she needs to become her party’s nominee and set a new fundraising record in her first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, as top Democrats rallied to her in their bid to defeat Republican Donald Trump.
Aiming to put weeks of intraparty drama over President Joe Biden’s prospects behind them, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris . Worries over Biden’s fitness for office were replaced by fresh signs of unity after a seismic shift to the presidential contest that upended both major political parties’ carefully honed plans for the 2024 race.
Speaking to campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware, Harris acknowledged the “rollercoaster” of the last several weeks, but expressed confidence in her new campaign team.
“It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win,” she said. She promised to “unite our Democratic Party, to unite our nation, and to win this election.”
She quickly leaned into the themes that will be prominent in her campaign against Trump over the coming 100 days, contrasting her time as a prosecutor with Trump’s felony convictions — “I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said — and casting herself as a defender of economic opportunity and abortion access.
“Our fight for the future is also a fight for freedoms,” she said. “The baton is in our hands.”
The president called into the meeting from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he is recovering from COVID-19, to lend his support to Harris. He planned to talk about his decision to step aside in an address to the nation later this week.
“The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all,” Biden said in his first public remarks since announcing his decision to step aside, promising he was “not going anywhere” and plans to campaign on Harris’ behalf.
Biden said of his decision to step aside, “It was the right thing to do.”
As he handed off the mantle of leadership to Harris, Biden added: “I’m watching you kid. I love you.”
Harris was headed to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Tuesday as her campaign for the White House kicks into high gear. 커뮤니티 The event in Milwaukee will be her first full-fledged campaign event since announcing her candidacy.
Biden’s departure freed his delegates to vote for whomever they choose at next month’s convention. And Harris, whom Biden backed after ending his candidacy, was working to quickly secure support from a majority.
Big-name Harris endorsements Monday, including from Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, left a vanishing list of potential rivals.
House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who had been one of the notable holdouts, initially encouraging a primary to strengthen the eventual nominee, said she was lending her “enthusiastic support” to Harris’ effort to lead the party.
More than 1,650 pledged delegates have told The Associated Press or announced that they plan to support Harris at the convention — more than three quarters of the 1,976 benchmark set by Democratic National Committee rules.
