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 endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in a statement.
A growing number of senior Democrats – including Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg – have backed Kamala Harris to be the party’s presidential candidate
Biden’s historic endorsement — and Harris’s pledge to unite the party behind her —came Sunday after he announced that he is dropping his reelection bid, saying it’s “in the best interest of my party and the country”
Biden, 81, had faced increasing calls to step aside since a faltering debate performance against Donald Trump last month.
Former president Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic candidate for president Hillary Clinton said they backed Kamala Harris as the party’s candidate for November’s vote, saying they would “fight with everything we’ve got to elect her”.
While Mr Obama stated that he had “extraordinary confidence” that an “outstanding nominee emerges”, he did not explicitly back Ms Harris or any other candidate.
Ms Pelosi has not commented.
Peter Welch, the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to drop his re-election run, called for an “open process” to nominate Harris.
But there are already signs that many in the party will unify behind her, including from high-profile politicians who had been touted as potential rivals for the nomination in the event Mr Biden stepped aside.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is believed to have presidential ambitions, praised Mr Biden as “selfless” and said he backed the “fearless” and “tenacious” Ms Harris to face Trump.
Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor, said he would do “everything I can to help elect Kamala Harris as the 47th President of the United States”.
Pete Buttigieg, the current transport secretary and a former presidential contender, said Mr Biden was “one of the most consequential presidents in American history”, adding he would do “all that I can to help elect Kamala Harris the next President.”
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, stated that her job “will remain the same… doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump.”
The Democratic National Committee meanwhile filed to amend the names of its fundraising committees to the Harris Victory Fund and Harris Action Fund.
Two major Democratic donors – LinkedIn co-funder Reid Hoffman and investor Alexander Soros – publicly endorsed Harris.
And within an hour of Mr Biden’s announcement, the pro-Trump super-PAC campaign fund Make America Great Again posted an advert attacking Mr Harris, claiming “she covered up Joe’s obvious mental decline”.
Trump added: “Whoever the Left puts up now will just be more of the same.”
