US election 2024 live: Kamala Harris seen as frontrunner to replace Biden
- Growing number of Democrats endorse US Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s nominee after President Joe Biden exited the race.
- The 81-year-old incumbent, who has thrown his weight behind Harris, said he would serve the remainder of his term.
Republican game plan remains unchanged
Janelle King, a Republican political analyst, says the shake-up on the Democratic side of the 2024 presidential race should not change the “rules of the game” for the GOP.
“I see this as an opportunity for the Republican Party to continue to stay the course of the resemblance of normalcy,” King told Al Jazeera.
She noted that recent opinion polls showed that a majority of both Democratic and Republican voters did not want Biden or Trump to be their respective parties’ nominees.
“When you see something like that, the best thing for [Trump] to do is to stand in normalcy, stand in a state of calm,” said King, urging Republicans to “stay focused on the economy and stay focused on the things that the American people are feeling”.
Key donors throw weight behind Harris
Biden endorsement of Harris yesterday was swiftly followed by the influential Congressional Black Caucus and various lawmakers, as well as several key donors and super PACs including Priorities USA and Unite the Country.
Dmitri Mehlhorn, an adviser to Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder and a major Democratic donor, called Harris “the American dream personified,” noting she is the daughter of immigrants.
“She is also toughness personified, rising from my home town of Oakland California to become the top prosecutor of the state. With Scranton Joe stepping back, I cannot wait to help elect President Harris.”
Chad Griffin, a member of the campaign’s national finance committee and a top Democratic fundraiser in the Los Angeles area, said the party is lucky to have Harris. “She’s the trusted, tested leader we need to carry us to victory in November,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue said on Sunday night that small-dollar donors had contributed nearly $47m in the first few hours after Harris announced her candidacy.
“Grassroots supporters are energized and excited to support her as the Democratic nominee,” the group said on X.
Senator Joe Manchin says not running for presidency
We brought you earlier the West Virginia senator’s comments to CNN in which he did not rule out making a bid for the presidency.
But in a new interview with CBS Mornings, Manchin has now declared that he is “not going to be a candidate for president”.
Manchin, who left the Democratic Party earlier this year to become an independent, said he supported the idea of a “mini-primary” process to select Biden’s successor.
‘Considerable political capital’: Asian allies react to Biden decision
US President Biden’s exit from his reelection campaign is being felt here in Asia. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo’s front page has a headline saying he was “Unable to conquer the tall wall of old age”.
South Korea’s leader Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have spent considerable political capital to affirm three-way coordination with Biden in recent years in their Asia-Pacific strategies vis-à-vis Beijing and Pyongyang.
Kishida said he respects Biden’s decision and the Japan-US alliance remains a lynchpin of his country’s diplomatic and security policies.
In Seoul, officials have expressed confidence in whoever the next US leader will be. There are many eyes on the United States’ next steps, especially here on the Korean Peninsula where inter-Korean relations have been at their lowest in decades.
Harris to deliver remarks at the White House
Kamala Harris will make her first public appearance in the morning at the White House since the Biden announcement, where she is scheduled to speak at an event honouring National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams.
She’s filling in for Biden who is recovering after contracting COVID-19 last week.
On Sunday, Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to “Harris for President”, reflecting she’s inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 staffers and a war chest that stood at nearly $96m at the end of June.
Israeli leader praises Biden’s ‘distinguished career in public service’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to the United States to meet President Biden after his announcement that he won’t seek re-election.
Noting he’s known Biden for more than 40 years, Netanyahu said the visit will give him a chance to thank the US leader for “the things he did for Israel in the [Gaza] war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as senator, as vice president, and as president”.
Netanyahu also plans to discuss with Biden “how to advance in the critical months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries: achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terror axis of Iran and its proxies, and ensuring that all Israel citizens return safely to their homes in the north and in the south”.
“In this time of war and uncertainty, it’s important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow, and always,” said Netanyahu.
US Senator Manchin not ruling out running against Harris in presidential bid
Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party earlier this year to become an independent, has said he had not given serious thought to reregistering as a Democrat.
Asked in a CNN interview if he would run against Harris, Manchin said, “I don’t know.”
The West Virginia senator previously called on Biden to drop his candidacy before the president made his announcement yesterday.
‘A confirmation rather than a contest’
A number of potential Democratic presidential contenders, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and California Governor Gavin Newsom, appear to have ruled themselves out of the race.
Scott Lucas, a professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, said the Democratic National Convention in August is going to be an event to confirm Harris as the party’s presidential nominee, rather than an open contest to choose one.
“The overall message will be unity on two fronts: unity within the party and unity for Americans against Trump,” Lucas told Al Jazeera.
Moreover, Lucas said, the Democrat campaign has been finally re-energised, something that could attract more funding.
“There is a lot more energy now in the democratic campaign than there was 48 hours ago and energy translates into money,” he said.
The Democratic fundraising organisation ActBlue said it had raised $46.7m from grassroots supporters in the hours after Harris launched her campaign.
The group said it was “the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle”.
