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Election 2024 updates: Democrats raise $46.7M after Biden exit, Harris steps forward

President Joe Biden was under heavy pressure from fellow Democrats.

Last Updated: July 21, 2024, 8:34 PM EDT

President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday came after heavy pressure from congressional Democrats, including Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and more than 30 House lawmakers.

Biden, 81, had resisted calls to step aside that grew almost daily following his poor performance in his June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump and persistent questions about his age and mental fitness. His decision comes just a few months before the Nov. 5 election.

Biden backed his vice president, Kamala Harris for the top of the ticket -- triggering many others in the party to issue statements backing Harris.

9 hours and 58 minutes ago

Major Biden donor says he won't fundraise for Harris if she's nominee

In an interview with ABC News on Sunday night, major Biden donor and supporter John Morgan said that if Vice President Kamala Harris is the nominee, he won't fundraise for the Democratic ticket.

"It's one thing to vote for somebody; it's another thing to raise millions of dollars for somebody; you have to really be in," Morgan, a high-profile Florida lawyer, told ABC News.

Morgan, who says he's a "Biden/Manchin type Dem," told ABC News he was all in on Biden but felt Harris would be too far left and lose in November.

"If Trump World could pick anybody to run against, I think they pick her," he said.

Morgan told ABC News he had already informed the Biden National Finance Committee that he was resigning from his fundraising efforts after Biden endorsed Harris.

"If she's a nominee, Mar a Lago has a real big party that night," he added.

-ABC News' Will Steakin

9 hours and 55 minutes ago

Pro-Trump super PAC spent $30 million on ads attacking Biden

Pro-Trump super PAC spent $30 million on ads attacking Biden

Pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again spent $30 million on ads attacking President Joe Biden this election cycle, Federal Election Commission records show.

The super PAC has also spent $18 million supporting former President Donald Trump.

It's unclear how much the Trump campaign, which is a separate entity from the super PAC, spent on ads specifically attacking Biden, as the campaign doesn't disclose that information.

The Trump campaign has sparingly placed television ads since the primary season.

-ABC News' Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibassa and Kelsey Walsh

10 hours and 5 minutes ago

Democratic strategist Brazile says Manchin reached out to 'inquire' after Biden dropped out of race

Former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile told ABC News' David Muir on Sunday night that Joe Manchin, the independent senator from West Virginia, had reached out to "inquire about the news" of President Joe Biden's exit from the presidential race.

Two sources told ABC News earlier Sunday that Manchin was considering reregistering as a Democrat to run against Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidential nomination.

In the interview, Brazile also said the DNC is committed to the virtual roll call that would wrap up by Aug. 7 -- more than a week before the convention starts.

-ABC News' Rick Klein

10 hours and 19 minutes ago

Biden, family feeling 'sense of relief,' source says

In conversations with people in and close to the Biden family on Sunday night, one word keeps reemerging: relief.

"For the people who love Joe, who are closest to Joe … there is a sense of relief," a person close to the family told ABC News.

The news cycle of the past few weeks has clearly taken a toll on those in the president's orbit. Watching allies turn on him and the news media scrutinize his every move has been a "painful" experience for Biden, sources said.

Before making his announcement on Sunday morning, the president told his brother, James Biden, and sister, Valerie Biden Owens, that he planned to step out of the race and endorse Kamala Harris, another source said.

Biden's two siblings -- who have been by his side since his first campaign more than 50 years ago -- did not try to persuade him to stick it out, the source added.

-ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman

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