President Joe Biden announced on Sunday afternoon he will not seek a second term and has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrats’ nominee for President. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says the major shakeup in the President’s race should benefit Democrats.
“Kamala Harris brings a degree of youthfulness to the ticket and certainly has a lot of support among Democrats and probably has the potential to get the support of a lot of independent, moderate, voters that are so-called swing voters,” Hogan said.
Several Democratic governors have also been reported as potential replacements for Biden on top of the Democratic presidential ticket, including California’s Gavin Newsome, Illinois’ J.B. Prtizker, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Colorado’s Jared Polis, and Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro.
But Hogan doesn’t see the delegates at the Democratic National Convention going against Biden’s wishes.
“These are the people who are the deciders, who will decide who the nominee is going to be, are pledged to Joe Biden and it seems very unlikely they will go against the wishes of the candidate they wanted to have the nomination,” Hogan said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Benton says the Democratic Party has invalidated the votes of millions of Americans by forcing their nominee off the ballot for President. Johnson told ABC News on Sunday morning that switching to a new candidate at this stage could violate state-level election laws. Hogan doubts that legal strategy will work because the primary elections are not the final say.
“The party’s are the ones who get to decide who the nominee is going to be and not until the convention is held is that nominee actually formalized,” Hogan said.
Here is the statement from House Speaker Mike Johnson:
“At this unprecedented juncture in American history, we must be clear about what just happened. The Democrat Party forced the Democrat nominee off the ballot, just over 100 days before the election.
“Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy’ has proven exactly the opposite.
“The party’s prospects are no better now with Vice President Kamala Harris, who co-owns the disastrous policy failures of the Biden Administration. As second in command and a completely inept border czar, Harris has been a gleeful accomplice — not only in the destruction of American sovereignty, security, and prosperity, but also in the largest political coverup in U.S. history. She has known for as long as anyone of his incapacity to serve.
“Regardless of the chaos in the current White House, our adversaries around the globe should be reminded that the U.S. Congress, the U.S. military, and the American people are fully prepared and committed to defend our interests both at home and abroad.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.”
Here is the statement from the Louisiana Democratic Party:
Following today’s news of Joe Biden’s announcement that he will not seek re-election as President, Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Randal Gaines today issued this statement. We thank President Joe Biden for his remarkable leadership. We will honor his legacy, and the decision that he has made today, by throwing our full support behind Kamala Harris in beating Trump again this November.
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