President Joe Biden announced today that he will not seek re-election this year and will instead support Vice President Kamala Harris, a momentous decision that comes after nearly a month of public worries from many Democrats about his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden posted on Twitter this afternoon. “And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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.”
Biden had won almost every Democratic primary contest in the country with only minimal opposition, including in New Jersey with 88% of the vote. But after an underwhelming debate performance in June and a torrent of alarming swing-state polls, the 81-year-old president began to face calls from within his own party to stand aside.
One such call came from New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), who was one of the earliest Democratic members of Congress to declare that Biden should drop his re-election campaign; former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes), now the chairman of the Hunterdon County Democrats, also said Biden should pass the torch. Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate this year, said repeatedly that he had concerns about Biden, though he never explicitly called on the president to step down.
What comes next is highly uncertain. While Harris is Biden’s most obvious successor, there are many other potential candidates as well, and some Democrats have called for there to be an open process to replace Biden at the August Democratic National Convention.
New Jersey has 146 delegates who, if the campaign to replace Biden goes all the way to the DNC, will have a vote at the convention; most of those delegates were pledged to Biden, while two are from a pro-Palestine uncommitted slate. (20 of the delegates are automatic delegates, such as members of Congress and DNC members, who will not be able to vote on the first ballot at the DNC.)
Biden, however, quickly made it clear that his preferred successor is Harris, and many fellow Democrats will likely follow his lead.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” Biden said. “And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
Kim, too, endorsed Harris for president shortly after Biden exited the race. The three-term congressman, who worked at the State Department under President Barack Obama when Biden was vice president, praised Biden both for his service as president and for his decision to step down.
“In his lifetime of service, President Biden has given our country everything he had,” Kim said. “He worked so hard to improve our nation because it’s personal for him. But he also connected with me and so many others because he cared about us. As a result Biden will go down in history as a leader of consequence and a man who loved his country. His decision to lift up a new generation of leadership is extraordinary and one that cements his legacy. Thank you President Biden.”
Gov. Phil Murphy, who was the ambassador to Germany under Obama, similarly said Biden leaves behind an exemplary legacy.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for over 50 years of service to our grateful nation,” Murphy said. “Your time in office will be remembered as one of the most successful and impactful presidencies in American history.”