Biden's decision to leave the party has given national Democrats a sense of relief and a look to the future.
HARPER WOODS, MI: After weeks of uncertainty over who would be the Democratic frontrunner in November, many voters expressed relief at the news that President Joe Biden would not seek reelection and began to consider who would replace him in a dramatically changed election landscape.
Jerrod Keene, a 40-year-old athletic trainer from Arizona, a volatile state, had planned to vote for Biden in November but said he was grateful for the president’s decision and that it was “inevitable.” Keene said he was excited about the next candidate and hoped it would be Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed on Sunday.
“Kamala Harris is the easiest choice because she’s vice president, and it’s going to be difficult if the party tries to go the other way,” said Keane, who lives in Tucson. “And I think she’s ready.”
The Democratic Party has been deeply divided since Biden’s poor debate performance on June 27, leaving many questioning whether he can defeat Republican Donald Trump and secure another term in November. Party leaders have increasingly called for Biden to step down, but his reluctance to do so has left voters across the country uncertain about who will face Trump in November.
A recent AP-NORC poll found that about two-thirds of Democrats think Biden should drop out of the race, while a majority believe Harris would do well in the top tier.
Keane’s relief that the saga surrounding Biden’s decision is over resonated with voters across the country, who in key swing states like Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada expressed optimism about the party’s next nominee, whether Harris or someone else.
In Pittsburgh, Fred Johnston said he feared another Trump presidency and long worried that Biden might not be able to beat Trump again. After watching Biden’s shaky debate performance, he desperately hoped Biden would drop out and hand the nomination to Harris.
“Kamala is someone we can vote for, and she’s the one we need,” Johnston said.
He also thinks she can win Pennsylvania: “I don't have a logical basis for it, but it's good to have hope. I haven't had hope for a while.”
In Las Vegas, 68-year-old Lucy Uano said she was proud of Biden's decision to drop out of the race and his move to quickly endorse Harris.
“He’s ending on a good note,” Ouano said. “Trump should be worried. He’s competing against a powerful man.”
Wuano, who immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand with her parents in 1960 as a child, said she never imagined this would happen when she attended Harris’ rally in Las Vegas just weeks ago aimed at allaying concerns about Biden’s reelection campaign.
At the time, she told the AP she planned to vote for Biden but wanted to make Harris her top priority.
“She’s going to lift up Asians, she’s going to lift up women,” O’Anno said after learning of Biden’s decision on Sunday.
Likewise, Arthur L. Downard Jr., 72, of Portland, Oregon, said he viewed Biden’s presidency favorably but was “very glad” he was leaving. The Democratic voter who voted 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 and he doesn’t speak the language,” he said. “He’s not a good messenger for the Democratic Party.”
Some voters, like Nebraska resident Lacey LeGrand, were reluctantly planning to vote for Biden simply because he was different from Trump.
“I’m definitely not a Trump supporter,” LeGrand said. “So I think I’m basically going to be supporting Biden. I’m not too happy about that.”
LeGrand, a registered Democrat in the swing state of Nebraska, said he believes Harris “has a chance” of beating Trump in the decisive Electoral College vote that both Biden and Obama previously won, but added, “I wouldn’t say it’s very likely.”
But not all voters were happy about Sunday’s news. Georgia voter Dorothy Redhead, 76, said she was “disappointed” that Biden had dropped out of the race, but that she “just had to accept” Biden’s decision as something between the president and God.
Jarvia Haines, a New Orleans real estate agent, said she had “mixed feelings” about Biden’s decision to drop out.
“I don’t think President Biden should have dropped out,” she said. “On the other hand, it might have been for the best.”
Haines, 72, of Harvey, a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana, was quick to zero in on who should lead the Democratic field, saying he was “very optimistic” that Vice President Kamala Harris would do a good job.
She added that she hopes Harris will choose Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as her running mate.
“I think two women are going to change the whole dynamic of the race,” Haynes said. He and Harris are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first African-American intercollegiate sorority. The organization has more than 360,000 members in graduate and undergraduate chapters in 12 countries and can be a powerful political force in its own right.
Barbara Orr, a psychotherapist in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said she thought Biden could run for president and beat Trump and win. But she saw his decision to drop out as a sign that he wasn’t acting on his ego, and acknowledged that voters thought he couldn’t do it because of his debate performance.
Orr, 65, said he wasn't “overly impressed” by Harris but thought she “could rise to the occasion.” “That's happened throughout history.”
She also acknowledged that Harris had not had a chance to prove herself as a candidate against Trump.
Orr, who describes himself as a progressive, has backed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 presidential election and said he would favor Whitmer replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee.
“I love what she represents,” Orr said.
Joe DeFrein was kayaking when he got a text message saying Biden had dropped out. The Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, resident wasn’t surprised to hear the news, but there was one thing that surprised him.
“I was waiting to see if all the boaters would scream with joy, because a lot of them were Trump fans, and I didn’t hear anything,” DeFrein said after dinner at They Say, a restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Harper Woods.
Biden visited They Say earlier this year, a moment manager George Ledbetter called “the greatest ever.”
Ledbetters' first reaction to this news was summed up in 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.”
Redbetter said he would support Harris despite his disappointment.
“I would take that too. I think she can do it. The first female president. That would be great. An African-American president. That would be great again,” said Ledbetter, who is black.
DeFrein said he would watch what happens before and during the Democratic National Convention.
“It’s going to be something we’ve never seen before,” said DeFrein, who voted Democratic in the recent election. “It’s going to be fun.”
