President Joe Biden sent a shockwave through the nation Sunday when he ended his reelection campaign after weeks of pressure from his own party to drop out of the race. Now, Democrats are scrambling to determine who should go up against former President Donald Trump.
Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris shortly after announcing his exit from the contest, but it’s not certain whether Democrats will follow his advice and coalesce behind her.
The revised process to form a presidential ticket wasn’t immediately clear, and the candidates for it could include a half-dozen governors and Arizona’s U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly.
The pressure is on for Democrats, who face an uphill climb to erase Trump’s electoral advantage. The former Republican president is leading in all battleground state polls. The GOP became even more united after Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt and accepted his party’s nomination last week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison left the door open to an intra-party fight on Sunday, saying in a written statement that the party will “undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward” with a candidate. Regardless of who the party selects as its nominee, that person will also need to select a vice presidential running mate.
Here’s a rundown on the leading contenders to join an overhauled presidential ticket.
Harris is next in line to the presidency, has Biden’s endorsement and would have the easiest access to his campaign operation and multi-million dollar bank account.
But she’s less known among voters than Biden is and could face competition from other Democrats for the party’s nomination. Harris was tasked with handling some of the most controversial issues in the Biden administration, like immigration, making her the face of a difficult policy area for Democrats. Harris also struggled as a presidential candidate in 2020, ending her campaign before the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” Biden said on social media. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
Some Democrats in the party have already suggested they would support her. Two Arizona delegates to the Democratic national convention told The Arizona Republic on Sunday that they plan to vote for her to be the nominee, and Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., encouraged the party to coalesce behind her.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a written statement. “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.”
In the weeks after Biden’s disastrous debate performance until his decision to exit the race, Kelly stood squarely behind the Biden-Harris ticket. With the shakeup, it’s less clear what he intends to do. Kelly was quick to throw his support behind Harris, setting off speculation that she could choose him as her running mate if she clinches the nomination.
Kelly, 60, has been in the Senate since 2020 and has a relatively prominent national profile apart from politics. He flew four space shuttle missions, became a spokesman for gun-control reforms after his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot in the head, and was an author and motivational speaker.
His military background, interest in foreign affairs and centrist persona could complement a Harris-led ticket.
At the same time, Democrats know their best chance to hang onto the White House requires winning in the Rust Belt, where at least two governors may be seen as more helpful.
Gavin Newsom
Newsom has been a visible face of the Biden campaign, courting the media at Republican presidential primary events and on cable news. His frequent appearances in the media were twofold: Promote Democrats and raise his own national profile. Newsom went as far as to debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a Biden stand-in on Fox News last fall.
As a fellow Californian, Newsom could defer to Harris as the top Democrat from the Golden State. But the governor did not immediately throw his support behind Harris after Biden dropped out of the race. He also canceled a Monday appearance at a judicial conference in Sacramento.
“President Biden has been an extraordinary, history-making president — a leader who has fought hard for working people and delivered astonishing results for all Americans. He will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents,” Newsom said on social media.
Gretchen Whitmer
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has won two terms in a state that is a near-must win for Democrats. She remained fully committed to the Biden-Harris ticket throughout the post-debate period and has seldom entertained speculation about theoretical presidential ambitions.
Polling shows Whitmer, 52, has remained relatively popular in Michigan into her second term. She delivered the Democrats’ response to Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address, but Whitmer isn’t especially prominent nationally outside political circles.
In a social media post Sunday, Whitmer remained coy about how, if at all, she factors in a revamped ticket.
“My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump,” she said.
Whitmer’s future could hinge on whether Harris is the presidential nominee. If Harris is, Democrats might be averse to running an all-woman ticket on short notice. At least five prominent Democrats in Michigan’s congressional delegation quickly endorsed Harris as the new presidential pick
Josh Shapiro
There are few states more important to Democrats than Pennsylvania on the battleground map. That makes Shapiro an attractive candidate. He won his race for governor by nearly 15 percentage points against a Republican with ties to Trump. Shapiro also has the highest approval rating among his own constituents of any governor in the presidential conversation, according to Morning Consult.
Shapiro, though, is less familiar to voters than Harris and even some of his fellow Democratic governors. Shapiro dodged questions Saturday about whether he’d throw his hat in the ring as a presidential or vice presidential candidate.
“I’m not going to engage in hypotheticals,” Shapiro told KDKA News, reiterating his support for Biden.
The Pennsylvania governor lauded Biden in a statement on Sunday, calling him “a patriot who has served our country honorably” and “one of the most consequential presidents in modern history.” Shapiro did not mention Harris, who Biden endorsed to replace him.
J.B. Pritzker
Billionaire Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is seen as a presidential contender after serving as a Biden campaign surrogate, visiting key electoral states outside of the Midwest and using his considerable wealth to promote Democratic issues like abortion access across the country.
Pritzker’s family made its fortune through the Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Forbes estimates his net worth is $3.5 billion. Pritzker’s personal wealth could also bolster Democrats. Biden’s cash advantage over Trump disappeared during the most recent fundraising quarter, campaign finance reports show.
Now that the president is out of the race, Pritzker said in a written statement that he will “work every day to ensure” Trump does not win in November.
Roy Cooper
Cooper, 67, has a long history of success with North Carolina voters, with four wins as attorney general and two as the state’s governor. It extended a run of Democratic wins in state-level races, but the party has struggled in federal contests, something that Cooper could help change.
Democrats are hoping to make North Carolina a battleground this year, which could help offset their standing in states Biden won in 2020, such as Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.
Cooper has battled a Republican-controlled legislature and made extensive use of his veto authority on many bills, especially on cultural issues, such as transgender rights.
As he is term-limited out of office later this year, Cooper retains strong public approval, polling shows.
