What does that mean for Florida, Osceola?
When the historians who mark time look back on the 2024 presidential election, they will use words like “whirlwind,” “unprecedented” and “unparalleled”.
Eight days after a shooter made an attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, current President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he will not seek re-election this year.
While it’s unclear if the two instances are related, an assassination attempt on a sitting or running president and the decision of a sitting president eligible for re-election to not run for that second term have not occurred since 1981 and 1968 respectively.
In short order, the Democratic Party rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris, raising tens of millions of dollars in mere hours for her campaign. Notable party leaders have quickly moved to endorse her for the presidency.
From the Oval Office Wednesday night, Biden gave insight to his decision, moved more by passing the torch to better unite the Democratic party than his health.
"I revere this office, but I love my country more," he said. "The defense of democracy is more important than any title. I've made it clear America is at an inflection point; one of those rare moments when the decision we make now determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come."
He said America now has to choose between unity and division, hope and fear.
"We are a great nation because we are good people," he said. "When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you and tell you the truth. In recent weeks it's become clear I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor.
"Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy; that includes personal ambition. I've decided the best away forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It's the best way to unite our nation. There's a time and place for long years of experience in public life. There's also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. That time and place is now."
Biden said he'd continue the job as president from the next six months.
"When I ran four years ago, I believed the soul of America was at stake. That's still the case," he said. "The idea of America is in your hands."
The response from the right: Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, swiftly responded on his social media site Truth Social.
“Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve,” he said. “All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t. And now, look what he’s done to our country … we will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly.”
Republican leaders Sen. Rick Scott, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Trump running mate J.D. Vance doubled down, demanding Biden resign from office.
“Let me be clear, if Joe Biden can’t run for re-election, he is not capable of serving as president for the next six months and needs to resign today,” Scott said in a press release Sunday.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President,” Johnson said on his own Twitter/X feed. “November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.”
Harris goes out in front: By Monday, no other Democratic candidate had come to the forefront of the party to be its presidential nominee, and by Monday party leaders were lining up to endorse the Vice President.
By Monday, that list included Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and, by late afternoon, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at one time a critic. She noted she lent her “enthusiastic support” to Harris’ effort to lead the party.
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. Harris must get 1,976 pledged delegates to secure the nomination, and by Monday the Associated Press reported more the 700 delegates had pledged their support.
Harris must then secure a running mate and create the face of a Democratic challenge to Trump with just over 100 days left before Nov. 5 Election Day. The list of potential— and popular—running mates includes Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
Harris big among social media: According to qrfy.com, Harris’ surged by 193,000 on X (to nearly 20 million) and 104,000 on Instagram (to 15 million) after Biden’s announcement and endorsement on Sunday.
“Kamala Harris’s endorsement from President Biden has sent shockwaves through the social media landscape. We wanted to see just how huge this was, finding Harris’s follower counts have gone through the roof since the events on Sunday,” said Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator.
What’s it all mean locally?
Steven Wells, chair of the Osceola Democratic Executive Committee, said this week that a local groundswell for Harris, 59, has emerged, as a more youthful candidate has entered the race.
“There’s been a live shift in the energy with another candidate,” he said. “Before the mood was, ‘We’re doing this with these two people again?’ Then, you had the roller coaster of emotion with the debate, the fall out and the discussion of Biden dropping out.”
He noted how a Harris presidency would mean a continuation of federal investments made locally.
“There’d continue to be same investment in infrastructure and technology like with the CHIPS Act (for semiconductor research),” Wells said. “Sunday gave us a chance to reflect on what this current administration has done.”
