Kamala Harris’ potential challengers fall in line, clearing way to Democratic nomination

Key Democrats from across the country came out in support of Kamala Harris as their party’s presidential nominee on Sunday, clearing what could have been a crowded field in the hours after President Joe Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race.

Heavyweights in the party long seen as leading alternatives to run against Donald Trump — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly — all announced or let known their intentions to support the vice president, falling in line behind Biden, who endorsed Harris moments after ending his own bid for reelection on Sunday afternoon.

The decision by so many potentially formidable competitors to stand down from a nominating fight reflected Harris’ innate strengths going into the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, less than a month away. Harris is armed with a readymade general election campaign she now inherits from her former running mate, a powerful war chest, and party allies eager to avoid protracting an intraparty battle that already took down the candidacy of a sitting president.

Several Democratic Party leaders refrained from endorsing Harris on Sunday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama all praised Biden for stepping aside, but went no further.

“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama said in a statement. “But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”

Democratic-aligned groups saw their biggest fundraising day of the 2024 election cycle on Sunday. But one major party donor — Vinod Khosla, a successful venture capitalist — wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he sought “an open process at the convention and not a coronation.” The key still is who can best beat Trump, he wrote, “above all other priorities.”

John Morgan, a major Democratic donor in Florida, said in a text message that he believes Biden’s endorsement means Harris will be the nominee — but he thinks she “has no shot.”

Morgan, who said a ticket with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear would be more competitive, doesn’t plan to raise money for a Harris-led ticket.

“You have to be enthusiastic to ask friends for money,” he wrote. “I would not be enthusiastic.”

Yet, facing a clear field, Harris has sprinted forward, making dozens of calls to lawmakers, governors and donors across the country and earning endorsements from major Democratic politicians such as Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Jim Clyburn in South Carolina, as well as major Democratic-aligned organizations like the Human Rights Campaign.

“My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement from the Biden-Harris campaign, now registered with the Federal Election Commission under her name. “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.”

In a statement, former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – the first and only woman ever to secure her party’s presidential nomination – joined Biden in endorsing Harris, saying they “will do whatever we can to support her.”

“Now is the time to support Kamala Harris,” they added, “and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her. America’s future depends on it.”

BETTER ODDS THAN BIDEN

Biden’s decision to drop out Sunday came three tortured weeks after his disastrous debate performance against Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, who had led him in polls across all battleground states throughout much of the race — a lead that only extended in July.

Harris runs slightly better against Trump than Biden, and her team is expected to push that argument in order to persuade any doubters about her candidacy.

A new YouGov poll found that, by a 37% to 22% margin, “Democrats think Biden’s move will make Trump less likely to win rather than more likely,” Carl Bialik, YouGov U.S. politics editor, told McClatchy.

But pollsters warned attitudes can change quickly. “People are often not good judges of how they’d behave in hypothetical situations. So I think we’ll need to see how people respond as the new reality sets in,” said Chris Jackson, senior vice president at Ipsos Public Affairs, which conducts national polls.

Heartening to Democrats, though, was that so far, Trump has not gotten the usual bounce candidates get during and after their convention.

Typically, the party not holding the convention goes silent, and political talk is dominated by the event. But this year has been different. By mid-week of last week’s Republican National Convention, stories about Democrats defecting from Biden were sharing top billing in the media with the GOP.

Polls showed virtually no bump for Trump. An On Point Politics/SoCal Research survey taken July 17, the convention’s third day, showed Trump with 52% to Harris’ 44%. Biden did slightly better.

Those numbers were largely the same as other polls taken this summer. What also gives Democrats new hope is that in that poll, as in many others, Harris does somewhat better than Biden with voters under the age of 30.

Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau reporter Lawrence Mower contributed to this report.