Biden Steps Down, Nominates Kamala Harris As Democrats Candidate

Bashir Opaluwa Idris

US President Joe Biden has nominated Kamala Harris, the vice-president, as his replacement for the United States 2024 presidential election.

On Sunday, Biden withdrew from the presidential race, saying his decision was in the best interest of his party and country.

In another post on social media, Biden said he has offered his full support to Harris as a nominee of the Democratic Party in the forthcoming election.

While Vice President Kamala Harris is an early favourite to replace Biden, especially after she received the president’s endorsement, challengers seeking the Democratic nomination could emerge in the coming days.

Many Democrats publicly announced that they lost faith in his mental acuity and ability to beat Donald Trump, leaving the presidential race in uncharted territory.

This is after his shockingly poor performance in a televised debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump, in June.

Biden said he would remain in his role as president until his term ends in January 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,” Biden wrote.

Biden’s replacement

Biden’s decision opens a path for Vice President Kamala Harris and other possible replacement candidates, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, to hastily mount a campaign for the nomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in mid-August.

It was unclear whether other senior Democrats would challenge Harris for the party’s nomination, who was widely seen as the pick for many party officials – or whether the party itself would choose to open the field for nominations.

However, groundwork for a last-minute nominee switch-up began in June, when the 81-year-old Biden was said to have appeared weak and flustered in the debate against Trump.

Not the first in history

This is not the first time in history that an incumbent U.S. president has lost their party’s nomination while seeking re-election.

The only other elected president to lose his party’s nomination was President Franklin Pierce in 1856.

Other incumbents, like Calvin Coolidge and Lyndon B. Johnson, have chosen not to seek re-election. Addi

In the 19th century, four presidents who assumed office following the death or assassination of their predecessors failed to secure their party’s nomination at conventions (Similar to Nigeria’s primaries).