Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is officially underway after President Biden announced Sunday that he was dropping out of the race and endorsed her as his successor. Within hours of receiving Biden’s backing, Harris raked in $49.6 million in grassroots donations, according to a spokesperson for her campaign.
Many prominent Democrats moved quickly to throw their support behind Harris, including Reps. Adam Schiff of California, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, as well as the political action committee representing the Congressional Black Caucus.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday issued a statement endorsing Harris, after initially declining to do.
Other party leaders, however, like former President Barack Obama have praised Biden’s decision to step out of the race but stopped short of endorsing Harris. It’s unclear if she will face any challengers for the nomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.
Biden announced his decision in an open letter posted to social media on Sunday, following a weeks-long pressure campaign from fellow Democrats that began in earnest following his much-criticized debate performance in late June.
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Mon, July 22, 2024 at 10:13 PM GMT+2Replace Biden? Some Republicans say that’s illegal and plan to file lawsuits to stop it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana told ABC News that the move by Democrats to replace President Biden as the party’s nominee would be, “I think unlawful, in accordance to some of these states’ rules for a handful of people to go in a back room and switch it out because they’re, they don’t like the candidate any longer.”
The Heritage Foundation, one of the conservative groups that crafted Project 2025, the blueprint that would restructure government agencies and dismantle environmental regulations should Republicans retake control of the White House, drafted a memo in June that asserted that the laws in some states do not allow for removing a candidate from ballots for reasons other than death.
“I think there’ll be a compelling case to be made that that shouldn’t happen, and so I think they’ve got legal trouble,” Mike Howell, the executive director of the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, told Newsweek.
Heritage is planning to file legal challenges in a handful of swing states to the Democrats’ plan to replace Biden as their presidential nominee but most election experts expressed doubt that lawsuitss from Republicans will hold up in court.
Read more from Yahoo News.
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 9:50 PM GMT+2Harris looks to secure nomination by Wednesday, Reuters reports 
Vice President Kamala Harris (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign is looking to have secured the support of enough delegates to earn her the Democratic nomination for president by Wednesday evening, Reuters reported.
Harris needs the support of a simple majority of nearly 4,000 delegates to secure the nomination, and she and her campaign have been making hundreds of phone calls since President Biden announced his exit from the race on Sunday, according to Reuters.
Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison has said that the DNC would schedule a virtual vote between August 1 and August 5 for delegates to cast their votes for a nominee. With Biden no longer a candidate, delegates are free to select whomever they please.
Read more from Reuters.
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 9:45 PM GMT+2Arizona’s governor endorses Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris picked up the endorsement of Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday.
“As the last few weeks have made clear, Americans are looking for a new generation of leadership that will move past the divisiveness and unite us around our shared American values,” Hobbs wrote in a post on X. “I believe that leader is Vice President Harris, and I look forward to working with her to lower costs for Arizonans, restore reproductive freedom, and defend our democratic rights.”
Hobbs is the latest governor of a key swing state to endorse Harris. The Democratic governors of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania have already backed the vice president’s bid.
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 9:24 PM GMT+2Vance floats conspiracy theory about Biden’s exit — and says he’s ‘pissed off’ he won’t get to debate Harris
Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, speaks during a rally in Middletown, Ohio, Monday. (Paul Vernon/AP)
In his first solo rally since becoming the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance on Monday suggested without evidence that President Biden was forced to drop out of the race by former President Barack Obama, billionaire philanthropist George Soros and other top-ranking party officials.
“The idea of selecting the Democrat party’s nominee because George Soros and Barack Obama and a couple of elite Democrats got in a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard — that is not how it works,” Vance said at a campaign stop in Middletown, Ohio, his hometown. “That is a threat to democracy, not the Republican Party, which is fighting for democracy every single day.”
Vance also said he’s upset he won’t be able to debate Harris now that she is running for the top of the ticket.
“I was told I was going to get to debate Kamala Harris and now President Trump’s gonna get to debate her,” he said. “I’m kind of pissed off about that if I’m being honest with you.”
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 8:36 PM GMT+2Biden’s doctor gives COVID update
Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor, wrote in an official memo to Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, that the president’s symptoms have “almost resolved completely.” Biden was diagnosed with COVID on July 17.
“His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear,” O’Connor wrote in the memo, released by the White House Monday. “The President continues to perform all of his presidential duties.”
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 8:31 PM GMT+2Looking at Harris’s VP options
Politico takes a look at nine possible vice presidential picks for Harris, should she secure the Democratic nomination:
The race to be Kamala Harris’ running mate has already started. Moments after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential contest and endorsed his vice president on Sunday, speculation began swirling over who would be Kamala Harris’ running mate. Some Democrats started floating their preferred picks
The outlet cites the following Democrats as the leading contenders:
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper
California Gov. Gavin Newsom
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 8:25 PM GMT+2Jeffries praises Biden and Harris but stops short of endorsing her — for now
Speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries praised both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris but for now stopped short of endorsing her for president.
“President Biden is a heroic, patriotic, transformational leader who will go down in American history as one of the greatest public servants of all time,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries said he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are scheduled to meet with Harris “shortly.”
He said her entrance into the 2024 race has “excited” the House Democratic caucus and the country.
“And so I’m looking forward to sitting down with her and leader Schumer,” Jeffries said. “And we’ll have more to say about the path forward after that meeting.”
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 7:35 PM GMT+2Pelosi endorses Harris for president
In a Monday post on X, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Kamala Harris for president: “I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”
With immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future, I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States. I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.
-NP pic.twitter.com/vBwv602GuR
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) July 22, 2024
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 7:29 PM GMT+244,000 people joined a Zoom call last night organized by Black women to support Harris
Hours after President Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic activists around the country began mobilizing to support her candidacy.
The group Win With Black Women held a Zoom call that its organizers said was joined by 44,000 people.
According to CNN, longtime Democratic operative Donna Brazile said on the call that she was in the process of gathering delegates to support Harris, and urged everyone listening to help fundraise and register voters.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser also spoke on the call, per CNN.
“I know what it’s like to be in the crosshairs of Donald Trump,” Bowser said. “We have to defend our sister.”
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 7:16 PM GMT+2John Fetterman endorses Kamala Harris for president
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said Monday that he is “proud to support and be all in for the next president, @KamalaHarris.”
Fetterman had been an emphatic supporter of Biden in the weeks following his poor debate performance and amid calls for him to step aside.
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 7:01 PM GMT+2Whitmer pressed on whether she’d accept vice presidential nomination: ‘I’m staying in Michigan’
After declaring her support for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was asked by a reporter whether she would join the Democratic ticket as Harris’s running mate.
“Are you prepared to take the vice presidency if it’s offered, ma’am?” Tim Skubick, a correspondent with CBS affiliate WLNS, asked Whitmer in an exchange captured on video.
“No, I’m not planning to go anywhere,” Whitmer replied, adding: “I’m not leaving Michigan.”
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 6:51 PM GMT+2Scenes from Harris’s 1st public appearance since launching her 2024 presidential campaignMon, July 22, 2024 at 6:20 PM GMT+2Kamala Harris arrives at the White House
Kamala Harris arrives at the White House on Monday ahead of remarks the morning after President Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 6:04 PM GMT+2Kamala Harris launches ‘first full day of our campaign’
Kamala Harris will be heading to Wilmington, Del., today to meet staff on “the first full day of our campaign” to become the Democratic nominee for president.
It’s the first full day of our campaign, so I’m heading up to Wilmington, DE later to say “hello” to our staff in HQ.
One day down. 105 to go. Together, we’re going to win this.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 22, 2024
The White House announced the update to Harris’s schedule in an email to reporters, noting that the vice president will travel to Wilmington for “a campaign engagement” at 3:10 p.m. ET.
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 5:58 PM GMT+2Harris makes 1st public appearance since launching presidential campaign
Vice President Kamala Harris made her first public appearance since announcing her presidential campaign, celebrating the achievements of NCAA student athletes today at the White House. President Biden is still recovering from COVID at his beach home in Delaware.
Before addressing the athletes, Harris reflected on Biden’s legacy — but did not mention her own campaign.
“Our president, Joe Biden, wanted to be here today,” she said. “I wanted to say a few words about our president. Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history.”
Read more from her speech:
In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office. And I first came to know President Biden through his son Beau. We worked together as attorneys general in our states, and back then, Beau would often tell me stories about his dad. He would talk about the kind of father and the kind of man that Joe Biden is.
The qualities that Beau revered in his father are the same qualities that I have seen every day in our president, his honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart and his love, deep love of our country. And I am firsthand witness, that every day our president, Joe Biden, fights for the American people, and we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 5:15 PM GMT+2Mike Bloomberg: Democrats ‘have a chance for a fresh new start’
In a message praising Biden’s “lifetime of honorable public service,” former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg opted not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president, saying, “Democrats now have a chance for a fresh new start, and while some elected leaders and party officials make their endorsements, there are still four weeks before the party’s more than 4,000 delegates convene in Chicago.”
The billionaire Democrat, who gave millions to Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign and ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign of his own in 2020, added: “The decision is too important to rush, because the election is too important to lose.”
President Joe Biden’s lifetime of honorable public service deserves the respect of all Americans, no matter their party. Stepping aside from this campaign is an act of selflessness that only a great patriot would do. No matter what happens in November, history will record that he…
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) July 22, 2024
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 4:51 PM GMT+2J.B. Pritzker endorses Kamala Harris, says ‘it’s past time’ to ‘finally elect a woman as President’
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday endorsed Kamala Harris for president, saying, “She represents our Party’s best chance to defeat Donald Trump in November.”
Pritzker added: “I also think it’s past time we shatter that highest and hardest of glass ceilings and finally elect a woman as President of the United States.”
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 4:22 PM GMT+2Gretchen Whitmer endorses Kamala Harris for president
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Kamala Harris for president Monday morning, saying, “Vice President Harris has my full support.”
Whitmer, who was considered a possible contender for the 2024 Democratic nomination, said shortly after Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday that her “job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump.”
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 4:07 PM GMT+2Beshear endorses Harris for president — and says he’d consider being her running mate
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. (Stephen Cohen/Getty Images)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Monday and said he would consider being her running mate.
“I am excited to fully endorse Vice President Harris for the next president of the United States,” Beshear said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday. “The vice president is smart and strong, which will make her a good president. But she’s also kind and has empathy, which can make her a great president.”
Following President Biden’s halting performance in last month’s presidential debate, Beshear’s name was among several mentioned as possible replacements for Biden at the top of the ticket. But many of them, including Beshear, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, have endorsed Harris after Biden’s exit from the race.
When pressed about the possibility of running with Harris, Beshear said: “I love my job. I love serving the people of Kentucky. The only way I would consider something other than this current job is if I believe I could further help my people and help this country.”
He added: “I think if somebody calls you on that, what you do is at least listen.”
Mon, July 22, 2024 at 3:35 PM GMT+2Democrats raise more than $50 million after Biden’s exit
In the hours following President Biden’s exit from the 2024 race, Democrats raised more than $50 million in online donations, the New York Times reported late Sunday. It was the biggest single-day haul since the 2020 election.
The spike came after Biden announced that he was dropping his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
The Times said that donations to ActBlue — a site that processes donations to all Democratic campaigns — went “from an average of less than $200,000 per hour in the hours before Mr. Biden quit to nearly $11.5 million in a single hour later on Sunday.”
A spokesperson for the Harris campaign said Monday that she raked in $49.6 million in grassroots donations in the hours after announcing her intention to run for president.
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Publish date : 2024-07-22 16:13:00
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