WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential race on Sunday as he exited the contest amid calls from fellow Democrats to step down. The chorus began after the 81-year-old president delivered a shaky debate performance on June 27 against former President Donald Trump.

Democrats and leaders from various sectors, including Black elected officials and political leaders, hailed Biden for his years of public service and praised his decision as selfless. Some also moved swiftly to endorse Harris, a Black woman. Biden’s move could place his former running mate to become the first Black woman and woman of color to lead the United States.

As the news filtered around the world on Sunday, America’s Black and Democratic political leadership looked to Harris, noting her work toward maternal and reproductive health and her background as a prosecutor, California’s attorney general and U.S. senator representing California. Others also chalked up Sunday’s events as Black women, once again, coming through to get a Democrat elected.

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Harris was loyal to Biden in the final days before his announcement, shrugging off suggestions that she could step into the nominee role. On Sunday, Harris released a statement thanking  Biden for backing her.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in the statement. “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.”

As the country regrouped around the pivot, and as Democrats navigated a new way to make sure Trump is not reelected, Black leaders and groups said this is the time to get behind Harris.

“The Congressional Black Caucus PAC joins President Biden in fully supporting Kamala Harris as our party’s nominee,” the political action committee said Sunday in a statement. 

“She has been instrumental in delivering the accomplishments of the last 3.5 years and has led on lowering maternal mortality rates, protecting reproductive freedoms, and ensuring economic opportunities for all.”

Rev. Al Sharpton, the founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN) in New York City, noted in a statement that Harris has been the target of political harassment and said now is the time for Democrats to support her.

“Vice President Harris and every Black woman in a seat of power are already under attack,” Sharpton said. “Democrats and all Americans who trust in the fundamentals of democracy, freedom, and equality must put aside their differences to rally behind them.”

In less formal circles, people on social media brought up Black women’s determination to cast their ballots, so much so that they are often credited as the reason behind many important wins for Democrats. Aimee Allison, founder and president of She the People in Oakland, California, hailed President Biden for his contributions to Black women, but also noted that, once again, it would likely be a Black woman who would come through for Democrats.

“Women of color — always the base of the Democratic party — will unite enthusiastically around her candidacy, and put Democrats in the driver’s seat to hold the White House in November,” Allison said in a statement. “Why are we so confident? Because Kamala Harris already beat Donald Trump once, in 2020.”

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and former White House hopeful, endorsed Harris, highlighting her record as a “proven fighter who has been a national leader in safeguarding consumers and protecting access to abortion.”

“As a former prosecutor, she can press a forceful case against allowing Donald Trump to regain the White House,” Warren said. “We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person who was chosen by the voters to succeed Joe Biden if needed. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November.” 

Arian Simone, CEO and founding partner of the Fearless Fund and founder of the Fearless Foundation, said Harris will be an asset for “entrepreneurs.” Simone’s organization was in the news in June after a federal court of appeals panel  suspended the grant program aimed at Black women, calling it discriminatory.

“Vice President Harris has proven time and again her dedication to fostering a more equitable society,” Simone said. “Her commitment to uplifting entrepreneurs reflects her deep understanding of their pivotal role in our economic landscape and the necessity of providing equal opportunities for all.”

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a joint statement thanking Biden for his service to the country but also warning that Donald Trump represents danger to America and must be defeated. They expressed their support for Harris.

“We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can do to support her,” they wrote.

Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal, who shares Indian heritage with Harris, says, “Let’s do this,” as she endorsed Harris on X, formerly Twitter.

“She will mobilize and energize our base to re-engage and ensure that we turn out every single voter across the country and deliver victory in November,” she said.

Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City, reacted to Biden’s endorsement of Harris that, Adams said, allows a new generation to come after Biden: “President Biden is now again delivering for the American people by passing the torch at a critical moment when the country needs strong leadership from a new generation.”

As the Democrat Party prepares for its convention on Aug. 19-22, its chairman, Jaime Harrison, said he was saddened Sunday because he’d been a Biden supporter until the end. But he also said the agenda for Democrats has not changed.

 “As we move forward to formally select our party’s nominee, our values as Democrats remain the same – lowering costs, restoring freedom, protecting the rights of all people, and saving our democracy from the threat of dictatorship,” he said.

Some high profile Democrats reacted to the news by thanking Biden for decades of service as an official, but not endorsing Harris. Among them was U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and former President Barack Obama. 
Said Aimee Allison, “Those who called on President Biden to step down from the race must now work 10 times as hard to ensure Kamala Harris is our next president. Together, we must, in President Biden’s words, ‘finish the job.’ ”