President Joe Biden endorsed Kamala Harris as his replacement at the top of the Democratic Party ticket, and the VP certainly has most buzz among media and politicians. It's not a done deal, though, until the party makes its nomination next month and there are others who want the job. They will not include Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer or Pete Buttigieg, who have all now hopped aboard the K Train.
Bloomberg News:
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer doesn't intend to compete with Vice President Kamala Harris and run for the the Democratic presidential nomination, said a person with knowledge of the matter.
Whitmer plans to let either Harris or another Democrat take the lead and run against Republican nominee Donald Trump, said the person, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. Whitmer is said to view the situation as complex and not an ideal time to make a bid following President Joe Biden's decision on Sunday to drop out of the race.
David Welch and Julie Fine:
California governor Gavin Newsom threw his support behind Kamala Harris, describing her as "tough, fearless and tenacious" on social media, ending speculation that he could challenge the vice president for the nomination.
Newsom's backing came several hours after he praised president Joe Biden in the aftermath of his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, in a post that notably failed to mention Harris. Others, such as North Carolina governor Roy Cooper and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro offered their support for the vice president against former president Donald Trump in November.
Adam Wren:
Pete Buttigieg, the only other 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden welcomed into his Cabinet, endorsed Kamala Harris on his personal X account Sunday, cementing himself as ally to the presumptive nominee.
"Kamala Harris is now the right person to take up the torch, defeat Donald Trump, and succeed Joe Biden as president," he said in a statement on his personal letterhead, which he drafted from his home in Traverse City, Michigan, according to a person familiar.
Illinois governer J.B. Pritzker is another possible pick, but he seems more interested in being Kamala's VP. West Virginia U.S. Senator Joe Manchin is now an independent but is reportedly in the race and may rejoin the party in a bid for the nomination. This is perhaps the scenario Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned of when she and other progressives gave Biden their backing: "a huge amount of the donor class and a huge amount of these elites…pushing for President Biden to not be the nominee also are not interested in seeing Vice President being the nominee."
