Joe Biden pulls out of US Presidential election 2024 race. Will Democrat Kamala Harris contest against Republican Donald Trump?

US President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign on Sunday after days of much speculations. The 81-year-old Democrat said he would "stand down", and not run for reelection. The announcement comes at a time when apprehensions were raised in Biden's mental acuity and ability to beat Republican nominee Donald Trump in the upcoming Presidential election. However, Biden's departure from the election scenario has left the presidential race in uncharted territory. Now, Biden has endorsed his own vice president, effectively anointing Kamala Harris as the party's nominee. However, Harris will still require an official announcement from the Democratic Party.

Thirty-six congressional Democrats have publicly called on Democratic President Joe Biden to end his re-election bid after the 81-year-old incumbent's halting debate performance against Republican rival Donald Trump, as per a Reuters report.



They represent more than one in eight Democrats in Congress, where Biden's party controls 213 seats in the House of Representatives and 51 in the Senate.

Who Will Be Democrat's Nominee Against Donald Trump?

Donald Trump is undoubtedly a formidable Republican candidate for Presidency and Democrats must find suitable nominee who can match the stature and outbid him in the ballot.

President Biden has been saying some awfully nice things about Vice President Kamala Harris lately. "She's not only a great vice president," he told the audience at an NAACP convention last week. "She could be president of the United States."

Has Vice President Kamala Harris Upper Hand?

Harris' supporters argue that she has earned the right to step in and that denying her would reek of sexism and racism. Her skeptics worry that she could not win in November and hope that a competition would surface a nominee with broader appeal.

Historically, it has not been a given that a president automatically endorses his vice president to succeed him. Harry S. Truman recruited another candidate to supplant his own vice president. Dwight D. Eisenhower said he needed a week to even think of any important contribution Richard M. Nixon had made as his No. 2. Lyndon B. Johnson did not endorse Hubert Humphrey until weeks before the general election.

Ronald Reagan stayed officially neutral during the primaries, endorsing George H.W. Bush only once he had secured the nomination, while Bill Clinton supported Al Gore even though his vice president kept a distance because of the scandal involving Monica Lewinsky. Perhaps most relevant, Barack Obama threw his support to Hillary Clinton to succeed him, discouraging Biden, his onetime running mate, from entering the race.

Either way, this situation is different from any of those past moments. The primaries are over, and the convention is just around the corner, scheduled for August 19 to August 22 in Chicago. The party is planning to formally nominate its candidate even earlier than that, through a virtual roll call to be completed by August 7 because of concerns about access to the November ballot in Ohio. There are only about 10 days until the convention ballots are sent out.

FAQs

Q1. Who is US President?
A1. Joe Biden is the US President.

Q2. When is US Presidential Election?
A2. US Presidential election is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.