President Joe Biden (D) is ending his campaign for reelection as President of the United States.
Biden posted a letter on his account on X (Twitter) saying, “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.” He plans to address the nation later this week to “speak in more detail about my decision.”
The Biden campaign was upended by a disastrous showing in a June 27 debate against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump (R). That led to widespread concern about whether Biden, 81, was physically and mentally capable of winning the election or fulfilling the duties of the office for another four years. Prominent political figures in the Democratic Party, including numerous members of Congress, have added to a chorus of calls for Biden to drop out of the race.
Soon after announcing the end of his campaign, Biden made another X (Twitter) post offering his “full support and endorsement” for Vice President Kamala Harris (D) to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in his place. The delegates who were pledged to Biden will now be free to vote for whomever they wish, but most are expected to cast their votes for Harris in accordance with Biden’s endorsement. At least two potential challengers—California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D)—immediately endorsed Harris.
Biden has been the presumptive Democratic nominee since winning the majority of the party’s pledged convention delegates in March. He was originally expected to be nominated at the Democratic National Convention from August 19 to 22 in Chicago, Illinois, but legal uncertainties about Ohio’s ballot access deadline led the party to consider a “virtual nomination” earlier in August. The last sitting president who was eligible for reelection but withdrew before the formal nomination was President Lyndon B. Johnson (D), who announced on March 31, 1968, that he “shall not seek” and “will not accept” his party’s nomination.
The last month has been an extraordinary period in American presidential politics. Following the aforementioned debate in June, Biden faced a barrage of criticism from members of his party and from normally-friendly media outlets and commentators. His efforts to reassure his supporters were unsuccessful and led to even more calls for him to drop out. Two days before the start of the Republican National Convention, then-presumptive Republican nominee Trump was injured in an assassination attempt that killed one supporter and injured two others. Finally, Biden canceled multiple campaign events after testing positive for the COVID-19 respiratory illness; he has been in isolation at his home in Delaware since last Wednesday.
It is not yet known whether the Democratic Party will proceed with a possible “virtual nomination” in early August or make its nomination at the convention as originally planned. It is also unknown who Harris will choose as her vice presidential running mate, or whether Harris and Trump (or their respective running mates) will hold any further debates.
Biden faced three opponents in the Democratic primary—businessman Jason Palmer (D), Representative Dean Phillips (D-MN 3rd), and author Marianne Williamson (D). Each received less than 3.3% of the popular vote and less than 0.1% of pledged delegates. Only Phillips and Williamson appeared with Biden on the Democratic primary ballot in Virginia. Palmer and Phillips suspended their campaigns earlier this year. Williamson twice suspended and restarted her campaign; she reentered the race for the second time on July 2 and her campaign is currently active.
Off on a Tangent typically acknowledges a candidate as a party’s presumptive nominee if they are the only candidate with an active campaign, or they have an outright majority of the party’s convention delegates pledged to them. Biden’s delegates will now be released from their pledges, so no candidate can qualify on that count. It is unclear when Harris will become a formal candidate, whether Williamson’s campaign will remain active, and whether other candidates will enter the race. For the moment there is no clear presumptive Democratic nominee.
Update, August 3, 2024: (Combining and clarifying earlier updates.) Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee on July 26. The Democratic Party’s Rules Committee decided on July 26 that it would hold a “virtual nomination.” Harris was the only candidate to reach the necessary requirements to qualify, and balloting is in progress. The results will be reported after voting ends at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, August 5.