The landscape of the 2024 presidential election was drastically changed on Sunday when President Joe Biden announced he’d be dropping his bid for a second term in office. The announcement came after Biden won all but one primary election (Jason Palmer won American Samoa), effectively locking up the nomination if he wanted it. And for his whole presidency until this weekend, he did. Now, he’s endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
The majority of Democrats are backing Harris, amid speculation that other major players in the party may seek the nomination instead. Among those were California Governor Gavin Newsom, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. All endorsed Harris in quick succession, limiting speculation to who will be Harris’ running-mate selection.
Biden’s sudden exit sent reverberations through Florida politics in particular, as Biden lost Florida by over three percentage points in 2020. Harris’ candidacy has the potential to reinvigorate Democratic organizers in the Sunshine State, as it remains debated whether Florida is still the battleground it once was. Meanwhile, Florida Republicans are simultaneously criticizing Biden’s decision to serve out his term until January, and questioning Harris’ qualifications over former President Donald Trump.
Florida Republicans React
Florida Republicans remain largely unified behind their party’s nominee, former President Donald Trump. Their campaign was given additional momentum by solidarity after failed assassination attempt and the selection of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as Trump’s running-mate. Reports indicate that the Trump campaign has been preparing for the possibility of a Biden exit for some time.
Paul Renner (left) speaks at the Flagler Tiger Bay Club last month. ⓒ AskFlagler
“After pushing Biden out, it was predictable that corporate media would provide hundreds of millions of dollars worth of glowing coverage to his replacement,” speculated Governor Ron DeSantis of the process. “They are trying to do that with Kamala but it won’t work — she is too vacuous, too liberal and too unaccomplished for the voters to buy the manufactured narrative.”
The sentiment of DeSantis that party elites are overriding the will of the voters was shared by Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, who represents Flagler and part of St. Johns counties in the state legislature. “Today’s Biden announcement reminds us that the Democrat Party is run by elites, who are obsessed with power and indifferent to the very democracy they lecture us about,” Renner argued. “If Biden is too feeble to run for President, then how can he remain President?”
Several members of Florida’s congressional delegation joined calls for Biden to step down. “If President Biden isn’t fit to run for re-election, he isn’t fit to continue as commander-in-chief,” said Rep. Michael Waltz, who serves St. Augustine down to south Volusia County. “He should resign. We are in a period of maximum danger with a wide open southern border and the world on fire.”
Congressman Cory Mills, who represents Seminole and part of Volusia County, concurred. “If Biden is not fit to run for reelection, then he’s not fit to run the country,” he said. “If Biden is too feeble to be charged with mishandling of classified documents as Special Counsel, Robert Hur stated, then he’s too feeble to run the country. We need Pres. Trump back in the White House.”
Florida Democrats React
Still searching to regain a strong foothold in Florida politics, the Sunshine State’s Democrats are largely coalescing behind Kamala Harris ahead of her likely nomination for the party’s presidential ticket this year. State Democratic leaders and members of the federal and state legislatures are both encouraging Floridians to get out the vote and keep Florida purple at a minimum.
“It is a great day to be a Democrat!” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said. “[Joe Biden] will go down in history as one of the most consequential Presidents of a lifetime. He did something that Donald Trump wouldn’t and couldn’t do, put the country first.”
Anna Eskamani speaks at an Orlando campaign rally in 2022. ⓒ AskFlagler
Lauren Book, the leading Democrat in the Florida Senate, concurred and thanked Biden for his years in political office. “Our country is a better, stronger, more united place because of President Joe Biden’s decades of selfless and steadfast service to the American people,” Book said. “Today, as the President announced his decision not to seek re-election, I thank him and his family for the sacrifices they’ve made in service to our nation.”
Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, the youngest member of the U.S. House of Representatives at 27, is both resisting the inevitability of Harris’ nomination and playing up her perceived qualifications. “Remember that the DNC announced an open process,” Frost said. “Just because the VP is such a unifying candidate & getting many endorsements, doesn’t mean this process isn’t open. Anyone can run. When she wins our nomination, it won’t be because she was anointed, it’ll be because she earned it.”
Though Harris didn’t surge among progressive Democrats in her 2020 presidential primary campaign, she’s enjoying a healthy dose of support from the further-left members of the party this time around. “This is the right decision for the American people and the Democratic Party,” said Florida Representative Anna Eskamani. “As Democrats, our values compel us to fight for the underdog, to defend everyday Americans in the face of injustice, and to champion policies that lift up all people. Let’s stay focused and energized for the future.”
