Vice President Kamala Harris is rapidly emerging as the logical successor to President Biden, Democratic strategists said soon after the 81-year-old leader announced he would drop out of the 2024 election.
Meanwhile, leaders in the Democratic Party, including Biden himself, are already coalescing around Harris, strengthening her position as the president’s heir apparent.
“I think that the only practical, logical and ethical thing we do is to coalesce around Kamala Harris in this moment,” former Obama administration Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs to the House Joel Rubin told Fox News Digital.
Rubin said Harris was “vetted and experienced,” having gone through much of the Democratic primary process already, and pointed out that she stands to inherit the Biden campaign’s vast infrastructure and $240 million war chest.
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Vice President Kamala Harris is shaping up to be President Biden’s heir apparent, Democrat strategists say. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“Nothing gets upended that way,” Rubin said. That point was echoed by strategist Antjuan Seawright, who urged Democrats to unify swiftly around the vice president, so the party could remain “focused on the message” for the remainder of the election.
“She is the only person that can inherit the operation that’s been built, as well as the… finances that have been built,” Seawright said. “So I think that’s important, and quite frankly, because 14 million voters have spoken, decisively about the two of them. And in any situation, if it becomes two minus one, she becomes the one.”
Harris’ case is also bolstered by endorsements from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and the Congressional Black Caucus.
“We join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished, standing up for America time and time again, with his North Star always being what’s best for the country,” the Clintons said in a joint statement. “We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her.”
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, are backing Harris. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Biden was under mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to drop out of the 2024 race after his disastrous performance in the CNN Presidential Debate last month. His weak showing spurred concerns among his allies about whether Biden is mentally and physically fit to run a campaign and serve another four years.
Jim Kessler, a former senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Harris clinching Biden’s blessing is “significant” in cementing her place as his successor.
“I think no matter which Democrats decide to get in the race, Harris is in the pole position,” Kessler told Fox News Digital. “Just remember, like, these are —these are Biden-Harris delegates going to the convention. And there’s a ton of loyalty among convention delegates towards Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”
“I can’t predict whether other Democrats will get in the race, but she has by far the strongest position going into the convention… It’s the Biden-Harris administration, and they were voting for the Biden-Harris ticket, and she’s been out… there campaigning.”
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President Biden announced he would step out of the 2024 race. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Other Democrats – Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Pete Welch, D-Vt., as well as Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., to name a few – have also voiced support for a “mini-primary” process to select a new nominee.
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Harris herself has signaled she would take up Biden’s mantle and thanked him for his endorsement.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. 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 and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” Harris said in a campaign statement. “We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”