Democrats were in uncharted territory Monday as they raced against the clock to find a new standard-bearer after President Joe Biden's stunning late exit from the 2024 race for the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris was in pole position as the party promised a "transparent and orderly process" to replace the 81-year-old Biden, who bowed Sunday to Democratic concerns over his age and capacity to beat Republican Donald Trump in November.
The announcement set off a scramble to confirm a new candidate at the Democratic convention in Chicago on August 19 — and perhaps weeks sooner.
Democratic lawmakers and party elders, including at least a third of US senators, some key governors, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, have rallied behind Harris, who crucially also received Biden's swift endorsement.
But many big names — from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his influential predecessor Nancy Pelosi to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former president Barack Obama — were initially holding back.
"We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead," Obama said in a statement in the wake of Biden's announcement.
"But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges."
'Full support'
Harris — who is Black and South Asian, and the only woman vice president in US history — appeared to have no immediate rivals, and any challenger may have a very small window to pitch an alternative path forward.
Potential convention delegates were being told to expect a vote on August 1 to put Harris's name formally atop the ticket, more than two weeks before the gathering, CBS reported.
Calls for an open convention in Chicago have been muted so far, with potential challengers such as popular California governor Gavin Newsom backing Harris.
"Yes, there's a process to go through and, yes, she must earn it. But she earned in many ways when Joe Biden selected her to be his vice president," former Missouri senator Claire McCaskill said on MSNBC.
The Democratic ticket has been in disarray since Biden's dismal debate performance in June, with Republicans coalescing around Trump after the attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania eight days ago.
Biden spent more than three weeks resisting calls to step down but then dropped his bombshell as he recovered from Covid-19 at his Delaware beach house.
The veteran Democrat said it had been the "greatest honour of my life" to be president and promised to address the nation later this week, offering his "full support and endorsement" for Harris.
Harris 'most likely'
Biden's exit makes him the first president in 56 years not to seek a second term and the first in US history to quit so late in the calendar.
Donna Patterson, an analyst and professor in Delaware State University's political science department, said his exit had injected "new energy" into the campaign.
"In the hours since the announcement, and with Biden's endorsement, a Kamala Harris presidential candidacy seems most likely," she added.
Biden's move also makes Trump, 78, the oldest presidential nominee in US history. He fired off a series of posts on Truth Social in reaction to the news slamming Biden as "not fit to run" and "certainly not fit to serve."
He also called for the next presidential debate, set for September, to be moved from ABC News to Trump-friendly Fox News.
Meanwhile running mate J.D. Vance underlined that Harris had been "every step of the way" with Biden, "the worst president in my lifetime."
The vice president struggled to make an impact in her first years in the White House, but performed strongly on the campaign trail on key issues such as abortion.
"Anyone the Democrats nominate — and I'm pretty sure it will be Harris — will have challenges," said Donald Nieman, a political analyst and professor at Binghamton University in New York state.
"But the announcement shifts the focus away from Biden's physical and intellectual limitations, where it has been for the past three weeks."
AFP