Live

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

President Joe Biden was under heavy pressure from fellow Democrats.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Julia Reinstein, Lauren Peller, Nadine El-Bawab, and Leah Sarnoff
Last Updated: July 21, 2024, 8:27 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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing:
9 hours and 51 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 6 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

8 hour and 0 minutes ago

Democrats raise $27.5 million following Biden exit, Harris endorsement

ActBlue, the small-dollar donor fundraising platform the Biden-Harris campaign uses, said it has raised more than $27.5 million in the first five hours since President Joe Biden dropped out and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim

10 hours and 27 minutes ago

Harris already working the phones on presidential campaign: Source

Vice President Kamala Harris has already hit the ground running on her presidential campaign, working the phones to shore up support and fundraising off the announcement, a source told ABC News.

The source says there are currently no changes to her expected travel plans for the coming week, which were determined prior to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race.

She's expected to travel to Milwaukee on Tuesday, July 23, to deliver remarks at a political event.

On Wednesday, she's expected to travel to Indianapolis, Indiana, to deliver remarks at the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.’s Grand Boulé.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

Related Topics