Vice President Harris said Sunday she intends to seek and win the Democratic presidential nomination after President Biden surprisingly dropped out of the race and endorsed her as his successor.
“I am honored to receive the president’s endorsement, and my intention is to seek and win this nomination,” she said in a statement.
“Over the past year, I have traveled the country speaking to the American people about the clear choice in this crucial election, and in the days and weeks ahead, I will continue to do so. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and the country – to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she added.
Biden announced early Sunday that he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race and would not seek another four-year term in office. He later endorsed Harris as the Democratic nominee after initially not endorsing her in the letter announcing his withdrawal.
The vice president thanked Biden for his decades of service, saying his “extraordinary achievements are unparalleled in modern American history.” She called Biden’s decision to drop out of the race a “selfless and patriotic act” and recalled first getting to know him through his late son Beau, who served as attorney general under Harris.
“107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win,” Harris said.
Allies of former President Trump began attacking Harris on Sunday, shortly after Biden endorsed her.
“Kamala Harris is just as much of a laughing stock as Biden. Harris will be even worse to the American people than Joe Biden was,” Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles wrote in the memo.
Biden’s full endorsement of Harris as his top candidate gives Democrats a clear successor with just weeks to go until their convention, but it’s not necessarily inevitable that Harris will be the nominee.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said Sunday that the party would move forward with selecting a nominee this week, but did not specifically mention Harris in a statement.
“Over the next few days, the party will conduct a transparent and orderly process and move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November,” he said. “This process will be governed by our party rules and procedures, and our representatives are prepared to take seriously their responsibility to swiftly deliver a candidate to the American people.”
Harris has been a staunch supporter of Biden amid the political turmoil since his disastrous performance in last month’s debate, which prompted about 30 Democrats to call for him to resign. She has continued to campaign, most recently in North Carolina, and has been a leading voice on reproductive rights within the Biden administration during this election.
Updated 4:24 p.m.
