Harris Off to a Running Start

Vice President Kamala Harris made her first public appearance Monday since Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris as his successor. Though she did not give remarks on her candidacy, Harris did speak at the White House event about Biden’s “transformational leadership.”

“Joe Biden’s legacy over the last three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said at an event honoring NCAA athletes, which was already on the schedule. “Every day, our president, Joe Biden, fights for the American people and we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.”

In a statement Sunday, after Biden’s decision to drop out of the race was made public, Harris expressed her intention to seek the Democratic nomination.

“My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris wrote. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump.”

Democrats far and wide seem to be rallying around Harris as the likely nominee. Her newly launched campaign has raised over $50 million in donations in the first day of its existence, signaling grassroots support for the vice president. Those Democrats who had been seen as potential challengers to Harris have virtually all lined up behind her, including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gavin Newsom of California, and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.

Question marks remained early Monday about whether the whole of the Democratic Party would coalesce behind Harris, as three high-ranking Democrats – Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi – all withheld immediate endorsements of Harris. But as the day unfolded, support for Harris became overwhelming.

Pelosi, who was instrumental in ousting Biden from the ticket and holds enormous clout in Washington as House speaker emerita, was the first of the big three to endorse Harris.

“It is with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future that I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president of the United States,” Pelosi said in a statement. “My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal and political.”

Jeffries, Democratic minority leader, and Schumer, Senate majority leader, are set to meet with Harris in person Monday afternoon. Neither has yet endorsed Harris.

Many delegates have also hopped aboard the Harris train, pledging their support to the vice president. To win the nomination in August, Harris will need to secure 1,986 delegates; over 500 have already announced their support. Tennessee was the first state to pledge all its eligible delegates to Harris, with South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Florida following in quick succession.

Harris plans to visit her campaign headquarters in Delaware today, acknowledging the new era she and the Democratic Party are now embarking on.

“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,” Harris wrote in a post on X. “One day down, 105 to go. Together, we’re going to win this.”