Ad Feedback
By Arit John, CNN
7 minute read
Updated 6:02 PM EDT, Sun July 21, 2024
Follow:
See your latest updates
Video Ad Feedback
Biden endorses Harris for Democratic nominee
02:08 - Source: CNN
CNN —
Vice President Kamala Harris said she plans to seek the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed her, setting up a push that could make her the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead the ticket of a major political party.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsem*nt and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in a statement.
Biden’s historic endorsem*nt — and Harris’s pledge to unite the party behind her —came Sundayafter he announced thathe is dropping his reelection bidfollowing weeks of disarraywithin the Democratic Party. The president’s disastrous debate called into question his ability to win a second term and govern for another four years.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pickKamalaHarris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsem*nt forKamala to be the nominee,” Biden said.
Still, despite the president’s backing, it remains unclear if Harris will become the nominee, or what process the Democratic Party would take to select an alternative. It will now be up to the delegates to the party’s national convention to choose their candidate. While Harris allies have sought to secure her path to the nomination, some Democrats have stopped short of backing her or explicitly called for an open nomination process.
Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement that in the coming days the party will “undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”
Logistically,Harrisis the natural heir to the ticket as Biden’s running mate.
The Biden-Harris campaign on Sunday formally amended filings with the Federal Election Commission to rename its principal committee “Harris for President,” saying that the committee name is “different than previously reported.”
The committeealso filed a letterwith the commission stating that “Vice President Harris is now a candidate for United States President in the 2024 election and will henceforth be conducting campaign activities only in pursuit of that office.”
Control of the campaign war chest, however – totaling $95.9 million at the end of June – depends on whether Harris remains on Democrats’ 2024 ticket.
Recent polling has also shown her performing better against former President Donald Trump, theRepublican nominee, than Biden and other potential Democratic contenders.
Should there be efforts to pass overHarrisin favor of Democrats seen as likely to run in 2028, there may be backlash from the vice president’s supporters and prominent Black Democrats. ButHarris has also experienced something of a renaissance within her party, as Democrats showered her with praise in the days following the debate.
Throughout her vice presidency,Harrishas struggled to define herself while juggling an issue portfolio that has included difficult topics such as voting rights and stemming the tide of migrants coming from Central America. On the former, an effort to bolster the Voting Rights Act failed in Congress. On migration,Harriswas criticized on the right for not spending enough time on the border and on the left for telling migrants in a speech, “Do not come.”
As recently as last year, some Democrats were worried that negative views ofHarriscould hurt the ticket, prompting prominentDemocrats to urge the party to stop undermining her.
But in the weeks since Biden’s June debate performance, Harrishas settled into a groove, becoming a key surrogate for Biden’s reelection campaign on reproductive health as the campaign put it, the threat Trump poses to democracy.
Harrisallies have argued that much of the criticism is a result of racism and sexism against the country’s first woman of color in such a position. Now, they say, the country is seeing inHarris what her allies have seen for years.
“Oftentimes Black women are not seen until they’re needed,” said LaTosha Brown, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter, a progressive group that works to boost Black voter turnout. “We’ve seen her constantly berated, marginalized, questioned. I think that the shift is because there’s a need.”
Kamala Harris speaks during an economic forum in Las Vegas in April 2019. The US senator from California is now the vice president of the United States.
A young Harris is seen with her mother, Shyamala, in this photo that was posted on Harris' Facebook page in March 2017. "My mother was born in India and came to the United States to study at UC Berkeley, where she eventually became an endocrinologist and breast-cancer researcher," Harris wrote. "She, and so many other strong women in my life, showed me the importance of community involvement and public service."
Harris and her younger sister, Maya, pose for a Christmas photo in 1968.
Harris rides a carousel in this old photo she posted to social media in 2015. Her name, Kamala, comes from the Sanskrit word for the lotus flower. Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants and grew up attending both a Baptist church and a Hindu temple.
Harris tweeted this photo of her as a child after referencing it during a Democratic debate in June 2019. During the debate, she confronted Joe Biden over his opposition many years ago to the federal government mandating busing to integrate schools. "There was a little girl in California who was bussed to school," she tweeted. "That little girl was me."
Harris got her bachelor's degree from Howard University in Washington, DC.
Harris graduates from law school in 1989. "My first grade teacher, Mrs. Wilson (left), came to cheer me on," Harris said. "My mom was pretty proud, too."
Harris is joined by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, left, and the Rev. Cecil Williams, center, for a San Francisco march celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. in January 2004. Harris was the city's district attorney from 2004 to 2011.
Harris speaks to supporters before a "No on K" news conference in October 2008. The San Francisco ballot measure Proposition K sought to stop enforcing laws against prostitution. It was voted down on election day.
Harris looks over seized guns following a news conference in Sacramento, California, in June 2011. Harris became California's attorney general in January 2011 and held that office until 2017. She was the first African American, the first woman and the first Asian American to become California's attorney general.
Harris attends the Democratic Party's state convention in February 2012.
Harris watches California Gov. Jerry Brown sign copies of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights in July 2012.
Harris speaks on the second night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
In May 2013, Harris and California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow place a wreath honoring Highway Patrol officers who were killed in the line of duty.
Harris officiates the wedding of Kris Perry, left, and Sandy Stier in June 2013. Perry and Stier were married after a federal appeals court cleared the way for California to immediately resume issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Harris is flanked by her husband, Douglas Emhoff, and her sister, Maya. Next to Maya Harris is Maya's daughter, Meena, and Maya's husband, Tony West.
Harris receives a gift from supporters in January 2015 after she announced plans to run for the US Senate.
Harris speaks during a news conference in February 2015.
Harris, as a new member of the Senate, participates in a re-enacted swearing-in with Vice President Joe Biden in January 2017. She is the first Indian American and the second African American woman to serve as a US senator.
Harris talks with former US Sen. Bob Dole on Capitol Hill in January 2017.
Harris attends the Women's March on Washington in January 2017.
Harris speaks to Fatima and Yuleni Avelica, whose father was deported, before a news conference on Capitol Hill in March 2017.
Harris greets a crowd at an event in Richmond, Virginia, in October 2017.
In November 2017, Harris was among the lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee grilling Silicon Valley giants over the role that their platforms inadvertently played in Russia's meddling in US politics.
Harris and her husband attend a Golden State Warriors basketball game in May 2018.
Harris attends a rally with, from left, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, and Newsom's wife, Jennifer, in May 2018. Newsom won the election in November.
Harris speaks with US Sen. Cory Booker during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in September 2018.
Harris presses Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing.
Harris arrives with staff for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in September 2018.
Harris reads from her children's book "Superheroes Are Everywhere" during a book signing in Los Angeles in January 2019. She also released a memoir, "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey."
A person holds a Harris poster during the Women's March in Los Angeles in January 2019.
Harris holds her first presidential campaign rally in January 2019. She had announced her presidential bid a week earlier on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Her campaign signs carried the theme "Kamala Harris for the people" — the words that she spoke each time she rose in the courtroom as a prosecutor.
Harris speaks during her CNN town-hall event, which was moderated by Jake Tapper in Iowa in January 2019.
Media members photograph Harris and the Rev. Al Sharpton as they have lunch at Sylvia's Restaurant in New York in February 2019.
Harris confronts former Vice President Joe Biden, left, during the first Democratic debates in June 2019. Harris went after Biden over his early career opposition to federally mandated busing.
Harris rides her campaign bus in Iowa in August 2019.
Harris and Biden greet each other at a Detroit high school as they attend a "Get Out the Vote" event in March 2020. Harris had dropped out of the presidential race a few months earlier, telling her supporters that the campaign didn't have the financial resources to continue.
Harris joins fellow Democrats from the House and Senate as they kneel in silence to honor George Floyd at the US Capitol in June 2020.
Biden calls Harris from his Delaware home to inform her that she was his choice for vice president.
Harris and Biden sign paperwork to officially get on the ballot in all 50 states.
Harris delivers a speech as she formally accepts the nomination at the Democratic National Convention. "Let's fight with conviction," Harris said in her speech. "Let's fight with hope. Let's fight with confidence in ourselves and a commitment to each other. To the America we know is possible. The America we love."
Biden and Harris appear before supporters at the end of the Democratic National Convention.
Harris addresses Vice President Mike Pence during the vice presidential debate in October 2020.
Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, tweeted this photo of him and Harris that was taken in November 2020, just after she and Biden were projected to win the election. "So proud of you," Emhoff wrote.
Harris arrives on stage to give a victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden and Harris greet each other on the stage where they delivered their victory speeches.
Harris is sworn in as vice president as her husband holds the Bible in January 2021. Harris was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. She wore the color purple as a nod to Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman to run for president.
Harris walks with her family to the White House on the final stretch of an abbreviated inaugural parade.
Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks alongside Biden and Harris at a White House event celebrating Jackson's historic confirmation to the Supreme Court in April 2022. Jackson is the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Harris is given a tour near the demarcation line as she visited the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea in September 2022. It was the last stop on her four-day trip to Asia, and it came a day after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Congress at the US Capitol in December 2022 as Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hold up a Ukrainian national flag signed by troops from the besieged area of Bakhmut.
Biden and Harris pose with the Golden State Warriors as the NBA champions visited the White House in January 2023. Harris said she had been a Warriors fan her "entire life."
Biden and Harris meet with congressional leaders in the White House Oval Office in May 2023 to talk about a deal to raise the nation's borrowing limit and avoid a historic default. Joining Biden and Harris, from left, are Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
US Sen. Laphonza Butler is sworn in by Harris at the US Capitol in October 2023. Harris and Butler are two of only three Black women to have served as a US senator.
Harris embraces Biden after a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, in March 2024. The rare joint appearance highlighted the emphasis that the duo planned to place on health care for the upcoming election.
Harris and Emhoff arrive to greet staff at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, in July 2024. It was the day after Biden announced that he would be dropping out of the presidential race and supporting her to be the nominee.
Harris speaks in Milwaukee in her first campaign rally, two days after Biden dropped out of the presidential race. She told supporters that she would spend the coming weeks "continuing to unite our party" ahead of August's Democratic National Convention and this fall's showdown with Donald Trump.
In pictures: Vice President Kamala Harris
‘Uncharted territory’
A growing number of Democratic officials and donors already have rallied behind Harris, including the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Democratic Senate candidates including Andy Kim of New Jersey, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
Even as Democrats waited for Biden to make his decision, Harris supporters were working behind the scenes for the last week to secure support from delegates -– not to push Biden out, but to be prepared in case he left the race.
“We have been whipping delegates for the last week,” a senior Democratic strategist who worked on Harris’ 2020 campaign told CNN.
Her network of backers includes a number of key Black female Democratic allies who have been quietly organizing for weeks to ensure that she would be well positioned to lead the ticket if Biden stepped aside. Those women will meet in a Zoom call Sunday evening.
“The bottom line is, we are ready to go,” said Brown of Black Voters Matter. “We are grateful for President Biden’s service and that’s why we fought for him until the end. We are ecstatic that he has put his endorsem*nt behind Vice President Kamala Harris. We expect the full Democratic apparatus to do the same and if they don’t, they will lose this election.”
Harris allies are describing this moment as “uncharted territory” but are confident the party will be able to navigate the days ahead because Biden has endorsed her.
For donors, Biden’s decision to exit the race and endorse Harris represents a seismic change for the Democratic party that many are embracing publicly.
Dmitri Mehlhorn, a Democratic political strategist advising several big-money backers, released a statement Sunday following Biden’s withdrawal supporting Harris.
“Kamala Harris is the American dream personified, daughter of immigrants who met at Cal,” Mehlhorn said. “She is also toughness personified, rising from my home town of Oakland California to become the top prosecutor of the state. With Scranton Joe stepping back, I cannot wait to help elect President Harris.”
Other donors were less enthusiastic about the Harris pick. Top Biden donor John Morgan called the president’s endorsem*nt of Harris a “f— you” to people who “pushed him out.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” he wrote on X.
Harris’s rise
Harris, the daughter of Berkeley political activists and immigrants from India and Jamaica, grew up in Oakland and spent much of her political career in California’s Bay Area. After earning her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law, she became a deputy district attorney for Alameda County. She later served in the San Francisco district attorney and city attorney offices.
In 2003, she was elected district attorney for San Francisco. Seven years later, she was elected California’s attorney general –the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American to hold the position.
Harris’s record in law enforcement would later become both a boon and a burden to her political campaigns for Senate and the White House. Among her more controversial policies was a truancy program she advocated, which allowed parents to be charged with misdemeanors if their children missed too many school days. Harris later said she regretted the “unintended consequences” of the program.
In 2016, Harris won her bid to succeed outgoing California Sen. Barbara Boxer, becoming the second Black woman to ever serve in the US Senate.
As a senator, Harris was known for her prosecutorial questioning style during hearings with Trump administration officials and nominees, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions and future Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Three years later, in January 2019, she entered the Democratic presidential primary. From the start, Harris acknowledged the historic nature of her campaign – she launched her bid on the federal holiday marking Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and held a news conference at Howard University, the historically Black college she graduated from in 1986.
Harris was one of more than a dozen Democrats, including Biden, who sought the 2020 party nomination. One of Biden’s worst debate moments of that cycle came when Harris blasted him over his opposition in the 1970s to court-ordered busing of students to desegregate schools. The dig from Harris, who was close friends with Biden’s son Beau before his death in 2015, came as a surprise to Biden and angered some his allies.
After she dropped out, Harris became a prominent surrogate for Biden before being named his vice presidential pick in August 2020.
“I’ve decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Trump and Mike Pence and then to lead this nation starting in January 2021,” Biden told supporters in an email.
This story and headline have been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Kayla Tausche, Eva McKend, Jeff Zeleny, Ethan Cohen and David Wright contributed to this report.
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback