With Biden out of race, eyes turn toward Vice President Harris and Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor
President Joe Biden announced Sunday afternoon he is withdrawing from the presidential race after weeks of political jockeying in the wake of a disastrous debate performance and diminishing polling numbers.
“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is 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 said in a statement. Moments later, the president endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.
With the backing of the sitting president, her nomination could be clinched by the 3,979 pledged delegates at the Democratic National Committee, scheduled for July 19 through July 22.
Biden said he will address the nation later in the week.
Democrats believe Harris stands a good chance of beating former President Donald Trump. Her advantage over other potential candidates partly stems from her position as a sitting vice president with an active campaign war chest of $281 million, and who has already been vetted on the national stage.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a popular governor from a critical swing state who has been mentioned as a potential first Jewish president since his gubernatorial campaign in 2022, appears to be a formidable choice for Democrats as Harris’ running mate.
In a poll conducted by a Democratic super PAC, Blue Lab, he was among four Democratic candidates who performed the strongest, outperforming Biden by five points in battleground states. In 2022 Shapiro beat his Republican rival, State Sen. Doug Mastriano — a Christian nationalist who has repeated antisemitic tropes on the campaign trail, by 15%. It was the largest margin for a non-incumbent since 1946 and the most votes in a Pennsylvania gubernatorial election.
The post With Biden out of race, eyes turn toward Vice President Harris and Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor appeared first on The Forward.
from The Forward https://ift.tt/I1KFzGn
Comments
Post a Comment