RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — President Biden announced Sunday he is stepping aside, dropping out of the presidential race, barely 100 days from the election and just a month away from the Democratic National Convention. CBS 17 asked political analysts what happens next and what this move could mean for the race.
Experts said there is still some uncertainty, and the next few weeks will be critical for Democrats, but they said Biden’s decision certainly shakes things up.
“It’s just a massive, massive reset,” said NC State political science professor Steven Greene.
Greene said he was not completely shocked by President Biden’s decision to exit the presidential race.
“It appeared that the pressure was only going to continue to build, and it did not seem like he had the answer in terms of being able to persuade people that he really had what it took to stay in the race and wage a vigorous campaign,” he said.
With prominent Democrats, including Biden, rallying around Vice President Kamala Harris, Greene said she is likely to take over the ticket.
“I think one thing that would be really fascinating is how this entirely flips the script on who is too old to be president,” he said.
Harris, 59, is nearly 20 years younger than Former President Donald Trump. Greene said she could mobilize groups of voters Biden struggled with.
“Young people want to find a politician to love. They want to find a politician to be excited about. My liberal students have been so disappointed in recent years because they were not excited about Joe Biden. Before that, they were not excited about Hillary Clinton,” he said. “I imagine there’s going to be a huge surge and excitement for the Democratic ticket.”
Local Democrats are also voicing their support for Harris.
“She is an accomplished lawyer, senator, vice president, and she knows how to energize the party, and so I’m excited about her,” said Raleigh Congresswoman Deborah Ross.
Ross also emphasized the stakes of this election.
“We’re under threat of going backward, but not just backward four years. We’re under threat of going backward to Reconstruction,” she said. “North Carolinians have the opportunity to change everything in this state for the better and to be part of making this country better for the future.”
North Carolina could also be a key battleground state.
“I think North Carolina looks to be fairly certain to be in Donald Trump’s column as things stand now,” said Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation.
However, Kokai said that could change. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s name has been floated as a possible vice presidential pick for a Harris-led ticket.
“That definitely puts North Carolina in play. He’s won six statewide elections. He won the last two elections for governor, outperforming other Democrats,” Kokai said.
Much depends, he said, on what the Democrats do about selecting a new nominee. He also said their message going forward could sway voters.
Gov. Cooper took to social media Sunday night and posted that Harris “has what it takes” to win.
“Does either side come up with a message about what good they would do in the next four years? Because we really haven’t seen much of that. The Biden campaign is mainly been ‘Donald Trump’s a danger to democracy.’ The Trump campaign has been ‘Biden’s policies have failed and his mind is failing too.’ Neither one of those messages is a positive message,” Kokai said.
Concerns have been raised that Harris will face challenges because of her race and gender, but Greene argues those concerns are given too much weight.
“The negative effects of running for office as a woman or as a person of color are way overstated. In fact, there don’t seem to be very many. People like to say, well, Hillary Clinton lost because she was a woman. Hillary Clinton won more votes than Donald Trump, right? She won the popular vote. Barack Obama, a black man, won two elections,” Greene said. “Those who suggest that that is a real drag on her possibility of winning, I think are really overstating the case.”
Both analysts said Harris is the likely nominee, but other candidates could jump in the race. Greene said it would be difficult to get a campaign going with so little time left, but not impossible.
North Carolina Political Reaction
In a statement Sunday night, the North Carolina Democratic DNC delegation endorsed Vice President Harris and thanked President Biden for his service.
“North Carolina Democrats are deeply thankful to Joe Biden. He is a true public servant and history will know him as being one of the most consequential and legislatively successful presidents in our nation’s history. During his administration, President Biden made historic investments in people – from our jobs, to our health care, to our infrastructure. As always, he has been a champion of our Democratic belief that every American in every community deserves to thrive.
Tonight, our North Carolina Democratic DNC delegation held an emergency meeting and we discussed how to best chart a path forward, build on his success, and unite, ready to win in November.
Our DNC Delegation is thrilled to announce that we unanimously endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the next President of the United States. This November it’ll be a prosecutor going up against a felon. It will be experience going up against extremism. We know that with the infrastructure and the organizing powerhouse we have spent years building, North Carolina will send VP Harris to the Oval Office.”
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis posted on the social media platform X: “”If President Biden can’t handle the rigors of a campaign, then he can’t handle the rigors of the hardest job in the world for another six months. And America can’t handle the disastrous Biden-Harris agenda for another four years. #ncpol”
