Once again, the Democratic Party is in disarray. President Joe Biden has just announced that he will not be running for reelection in 2024. His rather sudden decision was made public through a letter released on X.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
As if this wasn’t enough chaos for the Democrats, Biden also stated he will be addressing the nation later this week. One can only imagine what further bombshells he might drop.
“For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me re-elected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work,” the president wrote. “And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.”
The Democratic Party is now left scrambling, with no clear path forward. Biden initially refrained from endorsing Vice President Harris, but eventually did so in a follow-up post. It seems the Democrats are desperate to leverage any remaining clout from the Biden campaign.
Following Biden’s disastrous debate performance, there were numerous conflicting reports from Democratic insiders regarding potential replacements. Independent reporter Mark Halperin reported that Biden would be stepping down as early as Sunday, which turned out to be true.
Harris is already considering potential running mates, such as Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Other names thrown into the mix include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. Even failed presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has been mentioned.
The Democrats are now in a race against time to put together a winning presidential campaign just weeks away from the November election. Any candidate other than Kamala Harris would likely struggle with national name recognition, while a messy convention process could further hinder the party’s chances.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stated that Democrats will face significant hurdles getting their candidate on the ballot in several states. Republicans may even support legal challenges. “I mean, every state has their own election system, that’s our constitutional system, that’s the way it’s done. And in some of these states it’s a real hurdle, they have a real problem of replacing the nominee at the top of the ticket,” he said.
Johnson also pointed out that Biden was chosen by Democratic voters through a long primary process. “It will be very interesting to see if the so-called party of democracy, the Democrats, go into a back room somewhere and switch it out and put someone else at the top of the ticket,” he added.
The Democrats also have to deal with Harris’ unpopularity. Recent polling data from FiveThirtyEight shows that only 38 percent of American voters view her positively.
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