The day that catapulted Kamala Harris to within striking distance of becoming the Democratic nominee for president of the United States was marked by a flurry of phone calls.
Harris had multiple phone conversations with President Biden prior to his announcement Sunday morning that he was ending his reelection bid, according to a person familiar with Harris’ activities on Sunday. The announcement, which he released on X, rocked the political world and came after growing calls that he not seek a second term after a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.
From there, Harris spoke to more than 100 Democrats, including members of Congress, governors and labor and civil rights leaders, the source said.
“On each of those calls, the vice president made clear that she was extremely grateful for the president’s endorsement but plans to work hard to earn the Democratic nomination in her own right,” according to the source.
Clad in a Howard University hoodie, Harris served salad, sandwiches and anchovy-topped pizzas to her aides as she spent roughly 10 hours on phone calls to Democratic leaders on Sunday at her residence at the United States Naval Observatory, the source said.
Among the people she spoke with was her pastor, Amos Brown III, who prayed with her.
As Biden’s news spread, Harris quickly began to win the backing of many of the top people in her party.
Though Democrats have said they will have an open contest to select their nominee, many of the party’s leaders have endorsed Harris, including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Kathy Hochul of New York, Janet Mills of Maine, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Jared Polis of Colorado and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, as well as Sens. Laphonza Butler and Alex Padilla of California, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Chris Coons of Delaware, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and John Hickenlooper of Colorado.
There are also indications of spikes in fundraising since the announcement.
Biden’s announcement ends weeks of hand-wringing among party leaders who urged him to leave the race after a disastrous debate performance last month left many Democrats fearing he was too old for office and unable to defeat former President Trump.
“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 said in a statement. He will address the nation later this week, he said.
In his initial statement, Biden did not endorse Harris but later threw his support behind her in a post on X.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” Biden wrote.
In her own statement, Harris thanked Biden for his “extraordinary leadership.”
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said. “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.”
Through his wins in Democratic primaries and caucuses in U.S. states and territories, Biden amassed nearly 4,000 party delegates who were pledged to vote for him to be the party nominee at the Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 19 in Chicago.
His departure from the race means those delegates are now free to pick another candidate. They are not pledged to Harris.
Choosing a new nominee will be their primary task at the convention.
Jaime Harrison, the party’s chair, said in a statement Sunday that “the work that we must do now, while unprecedented, is clear.”
Times staff writers Kevin Rector and Faith E. Phino contributed to this report.