Biden passes the baton to Harris

Now that President Joe Biden has announced that he will not seek reelection, and has endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in November, who does one former DNC chairman think should be her running mate?

“… [I] would hope Roy Cooper, who is the former governor or the governor of North Carolina, who’s not running again. I think it will be actually easier for us to win North Carolina,” former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean told CNN last week. “So, I would favor a Harris/Cooper ticket, and I think we would pick up North Carolina as a result.”

Dean, also a former presidential candidate, was among the party elders and donors who reportedly were urging the 81-year-old  Biden to step off the campaign trail in the wake of his disastrous debate performance in June against Republican rival, former Pres. Donald Trump.

In an historic move Sunday, Pres. Biden announced in a letter posted on “X” that he would end his campaign for re-election. 

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden wrote. “And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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.”

Later, Biden also announced that he was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” he wrote. “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.”

It wasn’t long before prominent Democrats across the country like Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Congressional Black Caucus, joined in to also endorse Harris.

Political observers, like NCCU Law Professor Irving Joyner, commended Pres. Biden for his service, and for endorsing Harris for president.

“President Biden placed her by his side in every critical moment of his Presidency and provided her with active high-level training that expanded and demonstrated her leadership capabilities and qualities,” Prof. Joyner said. “As a result, Vice President Harris has earned the respect of many national and international political leaders. Many members of her political party and other U.S. citizens have also been able to determine that she is more than capable of stepping up to become the next President of this country. When called upon, the Vice President “stepped up” to the challenges presented to her and is now ready to “step out” to become the next leader of this nation.”

Here in North Carolina, the N.C. Democratic Party chimed in with its support for Harris.

 “Our DNC Delegation is thrilled to announce that we unanimously endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the next President of the United States,” stated the NCDP in a statement Sunday afternoon. “This November it’ll be a prosecutor going up against a felon. It will be experience going up against extremism. We know that with the infrastructure and the organizing powerhouse we have spent years building, North Carolina will send VP Harris to the Oval Office.”

Republicans, however  cued in with the same talking point.

“If Biden can’t run, he can’t serve,” said Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, gubernatorial candidate, in a statement.” Democrats who like to talk about ‘protecting democracy’ are throwing out the will of their voters because of bad polling. But make no mistake, whether it is Biden or Harris, the horrible policies are the same: Open borders, rampant inflation, and rising crime. While the Democrat party is imploding, Republicans in North Carolina and across the nation are united behind President Trump to deliver for the American people to make our communities safer, life more affordable, and create opportunities for everyone.”

With the Democratic National Convention scheduled for Chicago’s United Center from August 19 through the 22nd, the party is now trying to decide whether it will formally nominate Harris, or hold an “open” convention, where delegates decide who their nominees for president and vice president should be.

Right now, according to published reports, Vice President Harris is garnering strong party support to succeed Biden as the party nominee. Only West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a former Democrat, has indicated that he is rejoining the party just to challenge Harris.

But the vice president’s supporters say Democrats would be wise to get behind Harris, who, if elected, would become the first Black woman, and first Asian American woman ever to lead the presidential ticket of a major American political party.

They also say Kamala Harris will be the perfect opponent against Donald Trump in November. 

“Look, if you’re running against a convicted felon, then a prosecutor like Kamala is really a good person to make that case,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D - MA) told MSNBC last Saturday, noting that the VP and former California state attorney general is “ready to serve.”

Since Biden’s Sunday announcement not to seek re-election and his passing of the baton to the Vice President, the Harris campaign raised a record $81 million in 24 hours from 888,000 first-time campaign donors. By Tuesday morning, the donations reached $100 million, according to the campaign. A grassroots organization called “Win with Black Women” held a Monday conference call and raised $1.6 million. In addition, more than 28,000 new campaign volunteers have signed up the help the Harris campaign.

Before Biden’s stunning announcement Sunday that he was ending his reelection campaign, he was trailing Trump by an average of at least three points in most national polls. Harris polled slightly better, but still behind Trump.

Observers say that could all change once she secures the Democratic nomination.

But then, who would best fill the vice presidential nominee slot under Harris?

According to Newsweek Magazine, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a former state attorney general himself, would help deliver a key battleground state for Democrats, according to polling. But he’s only been in office for two years, and is seen as building his own record toward a national run for the White House one day.

Others have cited Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to notch another critical battleground state. Trump is reportedly pulling ahead considerably in that battleground state.

But political experts seem to agree that with North Carolina and its 16 Electoral College votes on the line, outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper, who is term limited to just two terms and is leaving office at the end of the year, would be a good fit.

Cooper, also a former state attorney general who is close to Harris, was first elected N.C. governor in 2016, and then reelected in 2020. In both cases, Cooper, a moderate Democrat, won when other Democrats could not, as Republicans won the state for the White House and Congress.

Barack Obama was the last Democrat to win North Carolina in 2008.

VP Harris, who has been greeted by Cooper the multiple times she’s campaigned here since the start of the year, has said of Cooper, “I’ve known him for almost two decades, and he is an extraordinary leader.”

Cooper’s “down-home” Eastern North Carolina appeal to conservative/moderate voters is seen as a good counterbalance to Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Ohio Sen. J. D. Vance, author of the bestseller, “Hillbilly Elegy,” and could help win the state.

“Roy Cooper can fit the bill too as a popular governor of a swing state,” Michael Gordon, a Democratic strategist and principal at Group Gordon, told Newsweek Magazine. “He is a safe choice but may not be as inspiring nationally as Shapiro.”

At press time, Gov. Cooper was reportedly on the VP short list. He has also endorsed VP Harris for president.

In addition to Cooper, on the short list of possible running mates for Vice President are U.S. Senator and Astronaut Mark Kelly of Arizona; Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear; Illinois Governor JB Pritzker; Pete Buttegieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and current U.S. Transportation Secretary; and California Governor Gavin Newsome.