Democrats woke Monday to a transformed presidential race after President Biden withdrew his candidacy Sunday afternoon and threw his support behind Vice President Harris.
Since then, Democrats have been coalescing around her. Harris garnered high-profile endorsements from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a handful of Democratic governors and more. On Monday, she will host an event at the White House for NCAA champions.
On the flip side of the race, vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) is set to hold two solo events, a rally in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, and another in Radford, Va.
Former President Trump on Sunday railed against Biden’s withdrawal, claiming it was undemocratic and mocking Biden’s mental fitness.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made the motion to endorse Harris for president at a virtual meeting of California’s DNC delegation tonight, her spokesperson told The Hill.
The spokesperson added that California’s endorsement gives Harris enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
— Mychael Schnell
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said that the California delegation for the Democratic National Convention is meeting tonight to talk about supporting Vice President Harris to be the presidential nominee.
The California delegation has not come out publicly in support of her yet, but Garcia indicated that would be the outcome.
“Obviously, she has a huge rep in California, so we’re all in in supporting her. We’re really excited,” Garcia told reporters outside the Capitol.
— Emily Brooks
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) came out swinging against Vice President Harris at a rally in Virginia, where he warned she was a “million times worse” than President Biden.
“Now, history will remember Joe Biden as not just a quitter, which he is, but one of the worst presidents of the United States of America. But my friends Kamala Harris is a million times worse and everybody knows it,” Vance said just a few minutes into his rally in Redford, Va. on Monday.
—Lauren Sforza
Harris visited the campaign’s Wilmington, Del., headquarters on Monday afternoon and 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?”
— Alex Gangitano
Vice President Harris said Jen O’Malley Dillon, who ran Biden’s successful 2020 campaign and was chairing his 2024 campaign, will run her campaign moving forward as she is poised to become the Democratic nominee.
Harris said Julie Chavez Rodriguez will also continue in her role as campaign manager.
“And so over the next 106 days we are going to take our case to the American people and we are going to win. We are going to win,” she said during a stop at campaign headquarters in Delaware.
— Brett Samuels
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee became the 23rd and final Democratic governor to endorse Vice President Harris as the next Democratic nominee.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has delivered for the American people. Now, we have an election to win,” he wrote on X. “I proudly endorse @KamalaHarris as our next President. She is ready to serve and we’re ready to do all we can to make it happen.”
Harris launched her campaign a little over 24 hours ago and most heavyweights in the party have now backed her.
—Yash Roy
Vice President Harris raised $81 million in the first 24 hours after President Biden stepped aside and endorsed her as the Democratic nominee, her campaign said.
The campaign boasted it was the highest 24-hour fundraising haul of any candidate in history.That haul included donations from more than 888,000 grassroots donors, 60 percent of whom had not donated before in the 2024 cycle.
“The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,” campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement. “Already, we are seeing a broad and diverse coalition come together to support our critical work of talking to the voters that will decide this election.”
— Brett Samuels
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey continued Harris’ streak of winning endorsements from the elected officials across the nation.
“I am proud to endorse Kamala Harris for President,” she wrote on X on Monday afternoon. “The future of our country as we know it is on the line. That’s why I am thrilled to support Kamala Harris as she works to earn the Democratic nomination and beat Donald Trump.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) says he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will meet with Harris.
“I’m excited for that meeting. And let me say this, that Vice President Kamala Harris has excited the community. She’s excited the House Democratic Caucus, and she’s exciting the country,” he said. “And so I’m looking forward to sitting down with her in person in short order with Leader Schumer. And we’ll have more to say about the path forward as soon as that meeting.”
Jeffries and Harris have yet to endorse Harris, though other members of Democratic leadership in both chambers have.
— Mychael Schnell
Over 250 Democratic mayors as well as Govs. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) and Tony Evers (D-Wis.) are now all backing Vice President Harris to be the new Democratic nominee.
“Vice President Kamala Harris is a tenacious leader who has vigorously defended our democracy, fought to protect the freedoms we hold dear, and worked tirelessly to do the right thing and deliver for us,” he wrote.
Evers released a statement on Sunday thanking Biden for his service but he did not endorse Harris as his successor until Monday.
“Just got off the phone with @KamalaHarris. I told her I will do everything I can to support her campaign for president,” Murphy wrote in a post on X. We all must come together to defeat Donald Trump this November.”
In a joint statement, the mayors of most major cities in the U.S. — including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrel, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu — wrote that they “are the closest to the people and understand better than most that too much is at stake for our communities to endure another Donald Trump presidency.”
“We are fully confident that this progress will continue under the leadership of Vice President Kamala Harris. She has been the President’s partner: delivering historic investments for our cities, championing working people, and fighting to protect our freedoms,” they wrote. “We know she will continue to be a strong ally of Mayors and cities. She is more than ready to lead our country.”
— Yash Roy
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), a frontliner, threw his support behind Vice President Harris on Monday to be the Democratic Party’s new nominee.
“The choice is clear, and the contrast is stark. Vice President Harris fights for freedom. Trump wants to take it away,” Ryan wrote on X.
“Now it’s time for all freedom-loving Americans to unite and rally behind her to win this existential fight for our democracy. Let’s go!!” he added.
— Mychael Schnell
“I will never forget where I came from,” Vance said several times during his Ohio rally, at the start and the end.
From starting his remarks talking about the best donuts in town, to stories about his Mamaw, Vance leaned into his roots.
The rally, about 40 minutes, wrapped with a Trump event favorite, “Y.M.C.A.”
Vance started a thought on Democrats on what party members believe is racist, but ended in an unexpected place:
They “say that it is racist to believe, well, they say it’s racist to do anything. I had a diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today. I’m sure they’re gonna call that racist too. But it’s good.”
After riffing on democracy and the democratic process, Vance noted that with Harris shifting to the top of the ticket, President Trump is now going to have to debate Trump. Initially, a vice presidential debate would’ve pitted Vance and Harris.
Vance said the change in lineup had him kind of “pissed off.”
Addressing a crowd of supporters in Middletown, Ohio, Vance hit a range of topics in a matter of minutes:
“We believe that we want to make more of our own stuff, and we believe that we want to have secure elections, and we believe we want to have schools that don’t indoctrinate our children’s that’s not racist, ladies and gentlemen is common American Middletown sense, and I’m proud to be from this down and it take the wisdom from it.”