Vice President Kamala Harris moved at speed to confirm her succession as the Democrats’ White House nominee, locking up endorsements and donors after Joe Biden’s dramatic exit transformed the battle against Donald Trump.
The contours of the reshaped election were already clear, with Mr Trump at 78 now the old man of the race and Ms Harris relying on her past as a prosecutor to mount a courtroom-style evisceration of the first convicted felon to run for the White House.
But the Republican’s campaign lost no time in trying to define her as a weak ally of an unpopular president, and as a “California liberal” out of step with Main Street America, after her ill-fated attempt to win the Democratic nomination in 2020.
Republicans also accused her of covering up for Mr Biden’s mental decline. Trump proxies went further with racist and misogynistic portrayals of the Indian-Jamaican-American VP, whose White House bid will attempt to shatter the last glass ceiling by electing a woman to the West Wing.
The former California senator was already streets ahead of any potential Democratic rival, inheriting more than 1,000 staff and a war chest that stood at nearly $96 million at the end of June, after the 81-year-old president abandoned his re-election bid in the face of mounting questions about his mental and physical stamina.
Some influential voices in the party such as Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi were holding back on endorsements, leaving the way open to a possible contested convention when the Democrats formalise their nominee in Chicago from August 19.
Ms Harris said it was her intention “to earn and win this nomination” - but already many of the names who could be in the frame in Chicago had lined up to endorse her, as attention turned to whom she might pick as her running mate.
Leading the endorsements was Mr Biden himself. Thanking him for his “extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country”, Ms Harris vowed: “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party - and unite our nation - to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
She also won backing from Bill and Hillary Clinton, Cabinet members such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and state leaders including governors who might be nursing their own presidential ambitions such as Gavin Newsom (California) and Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania).
Mr Shapiro emerged as one possible VP pick for Ms Harris, and others in the frame also backed her campaign, including North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has already ruled herself out of a White House bid.
Mr Obama was keeping his powder dry, and there was far-fetched talk that Michelle Obama could yet enter the fray.
But the former First Lady herself has ruled out ambitions to resume residency of the White House, and her husband appeared keen to avoid divisive talk of a coronation for Ms Harris, with whom he has longstanding ties.
America’s first black president said he was confident that Democratic leaders would “create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges”.
The Clintons had no such qualms, issuing a joint statement that said it was time to “fight with everything we’ve got” to elect Ms Harris. They added: “We’ve lived through many ups and downs, but nothing has made us more worried for our country than the threat posed by a second Trump term.”
After drying up under Mr Biden’s faltering campaign, the money flows also turned emphatically in favour of Ms Harris. Her campaign amassed a startling $50 million online on Sunday after he quit the race, the Democrats’ biggest single-day haul in years.
Mr Biden announced his decision to pull out of the 2024 election race after escalating pressure from Democratic allies following the June 27 debate, in which the president trailed off, often gave nonsensical answers and failed to criticise the former president's many falsehoods.
Mr Biden plans to serve out the remainder of his term in office, which ends at noon on January 20, 2025.
"It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your president. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, 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," Mr Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X, formerly Twitter, account.
Shortly afterwards he threw his support behind Vice President Harris, the party's instant favourite for the nomination at its August convention in Chicago.
"Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year," he said in another post on X. "Democrats - it's time to come together and beat Trump."
Mr Biden, who remains at his Delaware beach house after being diagnosed with Covid-19 last week, said he would address the nation later this week to provide "detail" about his decision.
Senior campaign and White House staff were notified just minutes before the letter went out, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr Biden had been reflecting on his future for the past couple days and the decision was closely guarded.
