WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ path to the Democratic nomination cleared Monday as she secured endorsements from potential rivals and other high-profile party members the day after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid.
A swarm of Democratic legislative leaders, governors — including some thought to harbor presidential ambitions of their own — and influential unions as well as key outside groups endorsed her within 24 hours of Biden’s unscheduled Sunday afternoon announcement, while no serious challenger emerged.
In Harris’ first public appearance since Biden’s announcement and endorsement of her, the vice president met with college sports champions at the White House. She opened her brief remarks with a tribute to Biden, who, while recovering from COVID-19, was “feeling much better” Monday, she said.
“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” she said. “In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office.”
Campaign staffers greeted Harris with cheers late Monday afternoon as she visited the campaign’s Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters, according to video from the Washington Post. The video showed a California flag had been hung at the campaign office and signs reading “Kamala” and “Harris for president” had been affixed alongside “Biden-Harris” placards on walls.
Several key Democrats had not publicly backed her by Monday afternoon. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and former President Barack Obama had not offered endorsements.
Jeffries told reporters that he and Schumer were planning to meet with Harris “shortly.” While Jeffries did not endorse Harris, he said she has “excited the House Democratic Caucus and she’s exciting the country.”
Congressional Dems line up behind Harris
But endorsements rolled in from Capitol Hill.
Top congressional Democrats like the No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and the No. 2 House Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, also early Monday gave Harris their support.
And former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement that she supported Harris and noted her work advocating for reproductive rights — a topic that Democrats have centered various campaigns on following the end of Roe v. Wade.
“Politically, make no mistake,” Pelosi said. “Kamala Harris as a woman in politics is brilliantly astute — and I have full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”
The chair of the campaign arm for House Democrats, Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, also gave her support to Harris.
Harris has also earned the backing of all the House Democratic leaders of influential congressional caucuses.
That includes Reps. Steven Horsford of Nevada of the Congressional Black Caucus, Nanette Barragán of California of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Pramila Jayapal of Washington of the Progressive Caucus and Judy Chu of California of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Obama holds off
Obama did not yet endorse Harris but in a lengthy statement Sunday said he has “extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”
Similarly, in 2020 the former two-term president waited until Biden was formally nominated by the Democratic National Committee before he gave an endorsement.
The DNC will move forward with the process to formally nominate a presidential candidate Wednesday when its Rules Committee meets in a public virtual session amid ongoing efforts to set up a virtual roll call vote ahead of the convention next month in Chicago.
No serious challenger to Harris’ nomination had emerged by Monday afternoon, as independent Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said in a morning MSNBC interview he would not seek the Democratic nomination.
Governors endorse Harris
Following Biden’s endorsement of Harris, several Democratic governors have also offered their support for the vice president, including the governors speculated to be among Harris’ choices for a running mate and would-be rivals for the nomination.
Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Wes Moore of Maryland and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois all offered their endorsements in the day since Biden withdrew from the race.
Beshear announced his support for Harris in a television interview Monday morning. He wouldn’t say if he’d like to join Harris’ ticket, but said in a statement on X that the vice president will “bring our country together and move us past the anger politics we’ve seen in recent years.”
By Monday afternoon, every Democratic governor in the country had offered their support, including Jared Polis of Colorado, Tony Evers of Wisconsin, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Laura Kelly of Kansas, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Katie Hobbs of Arizona, Janet Mills of Maine, Jay Inslee of Washington state, Tina Kotek of Oregon, Daniel McKee of Rhode Island and Maura Healey of Massachusetts.
State parties planning next moves
Several state parties endorsed Harris or indicated they would support her.
North Carolina Democrats voted to endorse Harris, NC Newsline reported.
At Beshear’s request, Kentucky Democrats voted “overwhelmingly” to back Harris, the Kentucky Lantern reported.
New Hampshire’s state party coalesced behind Harris at a Sunday evening meeting, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin.
Maine Democrats were scheduled to meet Monday night and are likely to consider a proposal to switch the party’s support from Biden to Harris, the Maine Morning Star said.
Advocacy groups
Several influential Democrat-aligned organizations announced their support for Harris.
Emily’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who favor abortion rights, tweeted its endorsement Sunday.
LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign also backed Harris, noting her early support for marriage equality and other work on LGBTQ issues.
UnidosUS, a Latino civil rights group, also endorsed Harris.
Gen-Z for Change, formerly called TikTok for Biden, had withheld an endorsement of the president over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war in which more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed. But quickly following the announcement from Biden to step out of the race, the organization gave an endorsement to Harris.
The political action committees of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Progressive Caucus also backed Harris.
Several unions jump in
Harris has also garnered the backing of several labor unions in the day since announcing her bid for office. The Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million service workers including health care and property and public services, announced its endorsement for Harris Sunday.
In a written statement, SEIU President April Verrett said “SEIU is ALL IN” for Harris and that the vice president “has made sure to use every lever of government to do everything possible to make things better for working people.”
The American Federation of Teachers unanimously endorsed Harris Sunday. AFT represents 1.7 million education professionals across the country, ranging from teachers and paraprofessionals to school health care workers and higher education faculty.
The United Farm Workers also quickly switched its support from Biden to Harris on Sunday afternoon. The union said it “could not be prouder to endorse her for President of the United States,” in a written statement, citing her support of farm workers during her time as an attorney general and senator in California.
SEIU, AFT and UFW all endorsed Biden for president in 2020 and this year prior to his withdrawal from the race.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has not endorsed in the presidential race, but invited Harris to a roundtable with rank-and-file members. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien addressed the Republican National Convention last week. The union endorsed Biden in 2020 but had not voiced its support for his reelection this year.
Notably, the UAW has not announced an endorsement for Harris. Biden walked the picket line in Michigan during the historic autoworker protests last September. The UAW thanked Biden for his service in a statement Sunday.
Lia Chien contributed to this report
