Biden's decision to withdraw is lifting Democrats across the country and prompting them to look to the future
HARPER WOODS, Mich. — After weeks of uncertainty about who would be the Democratic Party’s front-runner in November, many voters expressed relief that President Joe Biden was abandoning his reelection bid and began to think about who might replace him in a dramatically changed election landscape.
Jerod Keene, a 40-year-old athletic trainer from swing state Arizona, had planned to vote for Biden in November but was grateful for the president’s decision, calling it “inevitable.” Keene said he’s excited about the next nominee, hoping it will be Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed on Sunday.
“Kamala Harris is the easy choice, based on the fact that she’s vice president and it would be tough for the party to try to change direction,” said Keene, who lives in Tucson. “And I think she seems ready.”
The Democratic Party is deeply divided by Biden’s dismal performance in the June 27 debate, which left many doubting his ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump in November and secure another term. Party leaders had increasingly called for Biden to step aside, but his reluctance to step down left voters across the country unsure who would face Trump in November.
A recent AP-NORC poll found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats believe Biden should drop out of the race, while a majority believe Harris would do well in first place.
Keene’s relief that the saga surrounding Biden’s decision was over was echoed by voters across the country in interviews with The Associated Press. In key swing states like Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada, many expressed optimism about the party’s next nominee, whether it’s Harris or someone else.
In Pittsburgh, Fred Johnston said he was terrified of another Trump presidency and had long worried that Biden couldn't beat Trump again. After watching Biden's shaky debate performance, he was eager for Biden to drop out and hand his candidacy to Harris.
“Kamala is someone we can vote for, and that’s what we need,” Johnston said.
He also thinks he can win Pennsylvania: “I have no logical basis for that, but it's nice to have hope. I haven't had hope for a while.”
In Las Vegas, Lucy Ouano, 68, said she was proud of both Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race and his decision to quickly endorse Harris.
“He’s finishing in a great way,” Ouano said. “Trump should be worried. He’s running against someone strong now.”
Ouano, who emigrated from Thailand to the United States in 1960 as a child with her parents, said she could not have imagined this outcome just a few weeks ago, when she attended a Harris rally in Las Vegas aimed at allaying concerns about Biden’s re-election campaign.
At the time, she told the AP that while she planned to vote for Biden, she wanted Harris to be the front-runner.
“It will get Asians and women to rally,” Oaano said Sunday after learning of Biden’s decision.
Similarly, Arthur L. Downard Jr., a 72-year-old Portland, Ore., resident, viewed Biden's presidency favorably but said he was “very pleased” Biden stepped aside. The Democratic voter, who cast his ballot for Biden in 2020, said his opinion of Biden changed after what he called a “disastrous” debate.
“He was a great president and did a lot for our country. But he's too old, he's not eloquent,” she said. “He's not a good messenger for the Democratic Party.”
Some voters, like Nebraska resident Lacey LeGrand, had reluctantly planned to vote for Biden simply because he wasn’t Trump.
“I’m definitely not supporting Trump,” LeGrand said. “So I think by default I would have ended up supporting Biden. I wasn’t very happy about that.”
LeGrand, a registered Democrat in the key Nebraska district, a potentially decisive electoral vote that both Biden and Obama previously won, believes Harris “has a chance” of defeating Trump, though she added, “I wouldn’t say it’s a great chance.”
But not all voters were happy with Sunday's news. Georgia voter Dorothy Redhead, 76, was “disappointed” that Biden dropped out of the race, but said she “just has to accept” Biden's decision as a decision between the president and God.
Jarvia Haynes, a New Orleans real estate agent, said she has “mixed feelings” about Biden's decision to drop out of the race.
“I don’t think President Biden should have withdrawn,” he said. “On the other hand, maybe it’s for the best.”
Haynes, 72, of Harvey, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, quickly zeroed in on who should lead the Democratic ticket, saying she was “very positive that Vice President Kamala Harris can handle the job.”
He added that he hopes Harris will choose Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as her running mate.
“I think two women would change the whole dynamic of the race,” said Haynes, who joins Harris as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first historically black intercollegiate sorority. The group boasts more than 360,000 members in college and university chapters in 12 countries and could be a formidable political force in its own right.
Barbara Orr, a psychotherapist in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area, said she thought Biden was capable of running for president, beating Trump and serving as president. She saw his decision to end his candidacy, however, as a sign that he is not driven by ego and acknowledged that because of his debate performance, voters assume he is not capable of doing the job.
Orr, 65, said she wasn’t “super impressed” with Harris, “but she could rise to the occasion. It’s happened before in history.”
He also acknowledged that Harris has not had a chance to prove herself as a candidate against Trump.
Orr, who calls himself a progressive and has favored either Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president in 2020, said he would likely prefer Whitmer to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.
“I love what it stands for,” Orr said.
Joe DeFrain was out kayaking when a text message informed him that Biden had dropped out. While the Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, resident said he wasn't surprised to hear of the development, one thing did surprise him.
“I was waiting to see if all the boaters out there would scream with joy, because a lot of them are Trump fans. And I didn’t hear anything,” DeFrain said after sitting down for dinner at They Say, a restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Harper Woods.
Biden visited They Say earlier this year, a moment that manager George Ledbetter called “the best ever.”
Ledbetters' first reaction to the news boiled down to one word: “Why?”
“He's a good president. I like Biden,” Ledbetter said. But, he added, “You have to do what you have to do.”
Ledbetter said he will support Harris despite the disappointment.
“I'll take that, too. I think she can do it. First female president. That would be nice. African-American president. That would be nice again,” said Ledbetter, who is black.
DeFrain said he will be closely watching what happens before and during the Democratic National Convention.
“It’s going to be something we’ve never seen in our lifetime,” said DeFrain, who voted Democrat in the recent election. “It should be fun.”
