The Big Question Everyone Has For Kamala Harris Now That Joe Biden Dropped Out Of The Election

On the heels of the huge announcement from President Joe Biden on July 21, 2024 that he will not seek a second term comes more questions than answers. The biggest one of them all, though, might be, "Who will the Democratic nominee be?" For many, the obvious answer is Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden himself fully endorsed her candidacy on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing, "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 is far from the only prominent Democrat who has put forth their support for Harris to take the reins of the party. Former President Bill Clinton and Former Secretary of State (and presidential candidate) Hillary Clinton released a joint statement on X that read in part: "We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and will do whatever we can to support her." Among many other Dems voicing support on X, Senator Tim Kaine wrote, "I'm looking forward to working with my friend @KamalaHarris and a great ticket mate to keep Virginia blue so that we can continue to build on our progress."

If Harris does nab the nomination, the biggest question remaining is who that "ticket mate" will be — who will be the democratic vice president candidate? There are, unsurprisingly, a lot of options.

At this point these potential running mates are all the result of pure speculation, but it's not hard to imagine one of them beside her on the ticket come November. One of the top names floating around is California Governor Gavin Newsom, according to Forbes. Newsom, of course, represents one of the bluest states in the country which could prove to be an unpopular choice when it comes to undecided or independent voters. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is another name that keeps popping up, and he recently appeared with her at a campaign event, further driving speculation about his future.

Another name has started to circulate as a potential running mate. Senator Amy Klobuchar, who herself ran for president in 2020, could be in the mix as well due to her campaign experience and familiarity with voters. The current United States Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, is another potential option. 

The names, of course, will continue to surface over the next few weeks, but the ticket is likely to be solidified by the time of the Democratic National Convention in late August (via DNC). 

Interestingly, not every Democrat is rushing to endorse Kamala Harris as the nominee. Andrew Yang, founder of the Forward Party and once-presidential candidate, wrote on X, "Remarkable leadership shown by Joe Biden. Now it falls to the DNC to show equal leadership by having an open process to determine the best candidate(s) to take on Trump – Vance in November. The goal should be simple – to win."