Harris moves toward locking down nomination

Vice President Harris on Monday appeared close to locking down the Democratic presidential nomination weeks before her party’s convention, as would-be challengers endorsed her and key party figures offered their backing a day after President Biden’s historic exit from the race.

An all-star lineup of Democrats who might have been nominees, including Govs. Andy Beshear (Ky.), Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.) and JB Pritzker (Ill.), enthusiastically backed her, sucking any drama out of a hypothetical convention contest over replacing Biden.

“Vice President Harris has my full support,” Whitmer said. “So Michigan, let’s get to work. We cannot let Donald Trump anywhere near the White House.”

Donors who had been threatening to withhold funds if Biden remained the nominee are opening their wallets to the new would-be nominee.

The vice president raised $81 million in the 24 hours after she said she intends to seek the 2024 nomination, with 60 percent of the 889,000 donors making their first contribution to the Democratic presidential campaign.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a party kingmaker whose fingerprints were all over the pressure campaign against Biden, endorsed the vice president, saying she had “full confidence” that Harris would lead Democrats to victory in November. Pelosi had signaled precious little confidence in Biden’s prospects.

The sea change for Democrats was dramatic, as a divided party at war with itself just days ago sent every signal it is dying to unify around the VP.

“While it ain’t over till it’s over … it’s over,” said Al Mottur, who has helped raise money for the last five presidential Democratic tickets.

Harris made her first visit as a prospective presidential candidate to the Wilmington, Del., campaign headquarters she is now inheriting, meeting with staff who were working on the Biden ticket and will now work for Harris and a vice presidential nominee of her choosing.

She gave a rousing speech to an eager and excited campaign staff — surrounded by signs printed with “Harris for President” and “Kamala” — moments after Biden called in to give his first remarks since he dropped his bid.

She took digs at Trump’s legal issues, saying “hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type,” previewing how she will take on Trump on the campaign trail with her background as a prosecutor.

“Ultimately, in this election, we know we each face a question, what kind of country do we want to live in? A country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?” she said. “So, in the next 106 days, we have work to do. We have doors to knock on. We have people to talk to, we have phone calls to make, and we have an election to win.”

The crowd cheered for her when she asked, “are you ready to get to work?”

Harris was greeted by Biden’s home-state Delaware delegation, including Gov. John Carney (D), Sens. Tom Carper (D) and Chris Coons (D) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D). The campaign was renamed “Harris for President” as of Sunday, and Biden campaign staff have changed their affiliation to the Harris campaign in communications with media.

Earlier, Harris made her first public appearance since Biden’s exit, praising the president from the White House for his leadership during remarks celebrating the NCAA championship teams.

As of Monday afternoon, 770 delegates had endorsed Harris, up from the 531 delegates who endorsed her on Sunday. She has to secure 1,986 in order to win the nomination.

“There is a groundswell behind Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump is terrified because he knows his divisive, unpopular agenda can’t stand up to the vice president’s record and vision for the American people,” said Harris campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz.

Up until Biden announced his decision to step aside, Harris was a staunch supporter of the president and remained loyal to him while calls piled up from sitting Democratic lawmakers for him to drop out.

Democrats acknowledged her loyalty as a positive attribute going into the next few months of the campaign.

“The vice president has done everything right throughout this entire ordeal,” said Michael LaRosa, former special assistant to Biden and press secretary to the first lady. “The donors are psyched, the money is pouring in, and she’s breathing new life into the campaign at a time when Democrats have been depressed.”

He added, “The nomination is hers to lose and she’s going to give Trump a run for his money.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) have yet to endorse Harris, but that seems more a matter of extending the headlines and allowing other party figures to move first as each leader meets with their legislative caucuses. In a joint statement issued Monday, the two leaders said Harris was “off to a great start” in her bid to win the nomination.

While the nomination looks like it is falling into Harris’s hands, there are challenges ahead.

One top Biden donor, John Morgan, said he would not be fundraising for Harris, suggesting he is unenthusiastic about her candidacy.

“She would not be my first choice,” Morgan, an Orlando-based attorney, told The Hill. “But it’s a done deal.”

Before Biden stood down, a number of Democratic donors and lawmakers behind the scenes had raised reservations about whether Harris could defeat former President Trump. Aside from Morgan, however, such voices mostly have been silenced, at least for the time being.

Trump remains a formidable opponent, and the attempt on his life at a Pennsylvania rally only further unified Republicans behind his candidacy, as reflected in the GOP convention last week. Both parties will watching the polls closely to see how much of a bounce Harris gets from her launch.

The former president on Monday went on a tirade against Biden’s decision to drop out, posting 10 times on Truth Social.

“The Democrats pick a candidate, Crooked Joe Biden, he loses the Debate badly, then panics, and makes mistake after mistake, is told he can’t win, and decide they will pick another candidate, probably Harris,” Trump posted. “They stole the race from Biden after he won it in the primaries — A First! These people are the real THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”

Separately, his campaign ripped Harris as a weak candidate while tying her to Biden.

The Harris campaign and allies have responded to Trump’s attacks and questions over if she can beat him in November by setting up a debate between Trump, a convicted felon, and Harris, who was a prosecutor and attorney general in California.

“Vice President Kamala Harris has held criminals accountable her entire career — and Donald Trump will be no different,” spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “Vice President Harris has dedicated her career to making life better for working people — while Trump only cares about himself. That’s the contrast the American people will see over the next 106 days.”

Democrats, eager to move forward after the chaotic three weeks since Biden’s dismal debate performance, say they are encouraged by the unity behind Harris so far and ready to move on.

“I have literally never seen this much enthusiasm emerge from this much despondency the last day,” Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz (D) said. “It was almost as if I thought the [algorithm] had been rigged so that nobody could hope anymore, but the internet was ablaze with hope and enthusiasm and determination and seriousness of purpose, and that’s where we are now as a party.”

Al Weaver contributed to this report.

Updated at 6:33 p.m.