Joe Biden, who has just thrown in the towel, announced this Sunday that he is supporting his vice-president Kamala Harris to become the new Democratic candidate in the November election, a natural but not automatic replacement. Already set to succeed the president in the event of his death or incapacity, she is nevertheless very well positioned to be chosen by the Democrats. A serial pioneer, this daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother was the first woman and first black person to become attorney general of California, then the first senator of South Asian origin.
From her career as a magistrate, she retains a reputation for toughness that she could use in a campaign where crime issues weigh heavily. Some progressives, however, criticize her for having punished minor crimes harshly, which has particularly affected minorities.
Gavin Newsom’s support
The name of California Governor Gavin Newsom was also being repeatedly mentioned before the withdrawal was announced. The 56-year-old Democrat, a former mayor of San Francisco, has been leading the country’s most populous state for five years, making California a sanctuary for abortion rights.
While the man with the neatly combed locks of hair has continued to support Joe Biden in recent weeks, the governor has recently increased his trips abroad, broadcasted unrestrained commercials boasting about his record and invested millions of dollars in a political action committee, fueling speculation about a candidacy in 2028. “With our democracy at stake and our future in the crosshairs, no one is better placed than America’s Vice President, Kamala Harris, to oppose Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction,” he clarified on X this Sunday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a speech in San Francisco on June 1, 2019
© / afp.com/Josh Edelson
Another potential rival for Harris: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The 52-year-old is the head of Michigan, which has both a large working-class population and large black and Arab communities — constituencies that Biden is currently struggling to appeal to.
A fierce opponent of Donald Trump, she is known for having been the target of a kidnapping plot by a far-right militia. The state she leads will be one of the most contested for the November presidential election. This Sunday, she indicated that her “role” would not change after Joe Biden’s withdrawal. Without, however, giving clear support to Kamala Harris.
“I will do everything I can to help elect Kamala Harris as the 47th President of the United States,” wrote Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro on X. The 51-year-old is the head of the largest “swing state,” a state whose political color fluctuates depending on the election and which will also play a decisive role in November. Before taking up this post in 2022, by very clearly beating a competitor from the radical right supported by Donald Trump, he had been elected attorney general of Pennsylvania twice.
In that role, the official denounced sexual assaults committed by Catholic priests against thousands of children, and sued Purdue Laboratories, the manufacturer of the powerful opiate OxyContin. An effective orator and avowed centrist, Josh Shapiro has given himself the slogan of governor: “Get shit done.” Finally, Kamala Harris has also received the support of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a former candidate in the 2020 presidential election.