Illinois Democrats praised President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his presidential bid on Sunday, but not all were immediately on board with Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement.
The divisions among Illinois Democrats mirror national differences among delegates and Democratic leaders as the bombshell announcement, while not unexpected at this point, is still sending political shockwaves weeks before the Democratic convention kicks off in Chicago on Aug. 19.
The news stunned Illinois delegates; some had received phone calls Sunday morning from the Biden campaign to ensure they still planned to support him. After the announcement, they received an email from the Democratic Party of Illinois asking them to “hold tight and outside of thanking Biden for his service, you hold back from reacting publicly at this time.” Delegates, however, did react when reached by the Sun-Times.
The Biden team moved swiftly to try to make the selection of Harris a foregone conclusion and shut down talk of others leading the ticket or of some “mini primary” before the convention. Late in the afternoon, the Biden-Harris campaign filed papers with the Federal Election Commission changing the name of the campaign to “Harris for President.”
According to ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising company specializing in small donations, “As of 9 p.m. ET, grassroots supporters have raised $46.7 million through ActBlue” following the Harris campaign launch. “This has been the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.”
A campaign source told the Sun-Times that Biden may not come off the campaign trail as he stumps for Harris with a joint appearence in the works for the handoff. Meanwhile, Harris already is scheduled to be in Milwaukee on Tuesday, in Wisconsin, a swing state.
The road ahead for Democrats will be rocky and unprecedented. In Illinois, there will be a spotlight on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and whether he gets a place on the ticket — either as president or vice president.
In their statements coming out just after Biden’s announcement, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton did not speak in one voice about who should be the 2024 nominee.
Obama did not mention Harris in his statement, while Bill and Hillary Clinton said they are “honored” to join Biden in endorsing Harris. Said Obama, “We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead.”
It’s noteworthy that Pritzker, Democratic leaders overseeing the Illinois General Assembly and the state Democratic Party did not jump on the Harris bandwagon in their statements.
Neither did members of Congress who may be assessing the situation not in terms of Pritzker, but rather who is the strongest person to keep the Senate in Democratic hands and retake the House. Neither Sen. Tammy Duckworth nor Sen. Dick Durbin endorsed Harris in their initial statements.
Those calling for Harris to lead the ticket include Mayor Brandon Johnson, Rep. Danny Davis, Rep. Nikki Budzinski, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Rep. Delia Ramirez, Rep. Brad Schneider, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Sean Casten, Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Lauren Underwood and Rep. Mike Quigley.
Budzinski thanked Biden for his “lifetime of public service and for putting our country first as he passes the baton to Vice President Harris. It’s time that we come together and defeat Donald Trump in November.” Said Schakowsky: “It is vital that we continue the progress that President Biden began, and Vice President Harris is the woman to get the job done.”
Quigley, the first high-profile Democrat from Illinois to call on Biden to step aside, said, “I now look forward to our party uniting behind Vice President Kamala Harris as we do everything we can to get her elected and prevent Trump from winning another term.”
Garcia, without naming a candidate, said the party “must unite to protect our democracy.”
Pritzker released a statement focused on Biden’s legacy and “statesmanship,” and he focused on former President Donald Trump — with no mention of Harris as the potential nominee.
The Democratic governor’s statement was released nearly an hour after other president hopefuls — like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom — voiced their support for Biden’s decision to drop out and later endorsed Harris.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, were in lockstep with the Harris omission, instead focusing on Biden’s leadership and selflessness.
Johnson gave Harris his “full endorsement.”
“Vice President Harris is the visionary leader that we need now to defeat the threat of another Trump presidency. She has proven herself as a fearless defender of our democracy,” the mayor said. “I look forward to doing everything I can to ensure she becomes our next President.”
Illinois delegate Sarah Bingaman said her first reaction when hearing of Biden’s decision was to cry. She said she was sad that Biden wouldn’t get the opportunity to serve four more years, but was excited for the future.
“President Joe Biden has been a magnificent president,” Bingaman said. “ I couldn’t be more proud of the work he has done in the last three and a half years in terms of our economy, in terms of women’s rights, in terms of civil rights, in terms of healthcare, union workers and a myriad of other things.”
Bingaman said “whatever the choice is” atop the Democratic ticket, “it will be very exciting and we will definitely win this election.”
Arian Ahmadpour, a delegate and chief of staff for Will County Young Democrats, said he will support Harris and looks forward to working with her campaign.
“I think Vice President Harris will make an excellent candidate and will be able to defeat Donald Trump soundly in the election,” Ahmadpour said. “This now puts some states that were just out of reach for the Democrats back into play.”
Contributing: Emmanuel Camarillo, Kaitlin Washburn and Sophie Sherry