US Vice President Kamala Harris looks to lock up Democratic nomination after Biden bows out

US President Joe Biden's exit Sunday, July 21, prompted by Democratic worries over his fitness for office, was a seismic shift to the presidential contest that upended both parties' carefully honed plans for the race.

Nearly 30 minutes after he delivered the news that he was folding his campaign, Biden threw his support behind Harris.

"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."

Harris, in a statement, praised Biden's "selfless and patriotic act" in deciding to leave the race and said she intends to "earn and win" her party's nomination.

“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 said.

On Sunday afternoon, Biden's campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 staffers and a war chest that stood at nearly $96 million at the end of June.

Harris spent much of Sunday surrounded by family and staff, making more than 100 calls to Democratic officials to line up their support for her candidacy, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the effort. It comes as she tries to move her party past the painful, public wrangling that had defined the weeks since the Biden's disastrous June 27 debate with Trump.

It's only the first item on a staggering political to-do list for her after Biden's decision to exit the race, which she learned of on a Sunday morning call with the president. If she's successful at locking up the nomination, she must also pick a running mate and pivot a massive political operation to boost her candidacy instead of Biden's with just over 100 days until Election Day.

Biden's departure frees up his delegates to vote for whomever they choose. Harris, whom Biden backed after ending his candidacy, is thus far the only declared candidate and was working to quickly secure endorsements from a majority of delegates.

Notably, a handful of men who had already been discussed as potential running mates for Harris — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly — also swiftly issued statements endorsing her. Aides to Shapiro and Cooper confirmed that Harris spoke with them Sunday afternoon. In her brief call with Cooper, the North Carolina governor told Harris he was backing her to be the Democratic nominee, according to Cooper spokeswoman Sadie Weiner.

But former President Barack Obama held off on an immediate endorsement, as some in the party have expressed worry that the quick shift to Harris would appear to be a coronation, instead pledging his support behind the eventual party nominee.

Speaking to party leaders, Harris expressed gratitude for Biden's endorsement, but insisted she was looking to earn the nomination in her own right, the person said.

Aiming to put weeks of intraparty drama over Biden's candidacy behind them, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Kamala Harris in the hours after Biden announced he was dropping his reelection campaign.

Harris was to make her first public appearance Monday morning at the White House, where she is scheduled to speak at an event honoring National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams. She is filling in for Biden, who is recovering after contracting COVID-19 last week.