Washington and the world are still processing President Joe Biden’s surprise announcement on Sunday that he is ending his teetering reelection campaign, and his swift endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket.
The historic developments are energizing Democrats and breathing new life into their campaign to defeat former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Harris’ newly launched campaign has raised $49.6 million in grassroots donations in the less than one day since it was launched. Additionally, some major Democratic donors who had previously paused their contributions out of concerns about Biden tell CNBC they’re ready to back Harris, including heiress Abigail Disney.
Republicans are meanwhile scrambling to retool a Trump campaign that was built to defeat Joe Biden into one capable of defeating a very different candidate.
This clout could be part of the reason that West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a former Democrat turned Independent who signaled on Sunday that he was open to challenging Harris for the Democratic nomination, appears to be backing down.