Democrats all but crowned Vice President Kamala Harris as their nominee to replace President Biden on Monday — despite signs she may fare no better than President Biden against former President Donald Trump in November.
The 81-year-old president dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday following growing concerns about his mental acuity.
“Over the next 106 days, we are going to bring our case to the American people, and we are going to win,” Harris, 59, said during a triumphant visit to the campaign’s headquarters in Wilmington, Del.
“It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win. So in the days and weeks ahead, I — together with you — will do everything in my power to unite our Democratic Party, to unite our nation and to win the election,” the vice president said following a speaker-phone introduction from a slurring and raspy Biden, who has not been seen in public since canceling a campaign event on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19.
March to top of ticket
With no opposition, her march to the nomination progressed apace even though Democrats fretted about her likability and performance as vice president in the weeks before Biden’s surprise decision to drop out.
At least 2,214 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, enough to win the nomination on the first ballot, have indicated they support Harris, according to a Monday Associated Press survey ahead of an expected decision on virtual voting on the Democratic ticket.
Top would-be challengers including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly lined up to kiss her hands Sunday night in the hours after Biden ditched his bid for a second term.
Leading initial holdouts, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, also added their blessing of the switch on Monday.
Notably, Harris has not yet been endorsed by former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
However, they also refrained from criticizing her either directly or through undenied leaks to the press, as occurred against Biden.
Deepening war chest
Sources told The Post it is “impossible” for anyone besides Harris to get the nomination given the decision has to be made in mere weeks, adding that it would be “suicide” to try and mount a challenge at this point since President Biden has anointed Harris as his successor.
Meanwhile, campaign dollars flooded Harris’ war chest — with roughly $231 million pouring in over the 24 hours across her campaign and super PAC Future Forward after Biden pulled the plug.
Trump, 78, quickly sought to define Harris, telling The Post, “There are two words to describe Kamala Harris: vicious and dumb. It’s a bad combination.”
Democrats have less than one week to decide whether they will proceed with a virtual roll call to nominate Harris to meet an Aug. 7 Ohio ballot-access deadline.
If Harris prevails in that vote, it still is possible for Democrats to replace her on the floor of the Aug. 19-22 party convention in Chicago if a mutiny mounts.
As of late Friday, the DNC rules committee was forging ahead with plans for a virtual roll call in the first week of August to avoid any legal challenges from Republicans on state ballots.
The rules committee is next slated to meet on Wednesday to discuss, but its final decision isn’t due until Friday.
In a Friday rules committee call before Biden’s dropout, former White House counsel Dana Remus — who is advising the DNC on the legal issue — argued that a virtual roll call would be best to avoid litigation from the GOP.
“How significant of a risk? Well, it’s hard to say,” Remus said on the call, according to Politico. “People certainly disagree, and reasonably disagree — but it is a risk, and if we can avoid it, we should.”
One member of the committee who remained anonymous expressed doubt that the roll call could still happen with Biden out.
“It would be hard for it to move forward” with the virtual roll call vote upon Biden’s suspension, the member said in a Politico report. “For all intents and purposes, it’d need to go to an open convention.”
But since Biden stepped down, big money donors have quietly advised promising candidates they view as the future of the party — including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Whitmer and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo — to hold their powder and let Harris clinch the Democratic nomination.
Despite the quick rally around Harris, many prominent Dems previously dissed her — suggesting an undercurrent of unease.
“She would cackle her way all the way to the Oval if she could,” a prominent Democratic source told The Post after Biden’s dismal June 27 debate performance.