Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 race and Kamala Harris's nomination

The pressure built through July. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first sitting Democratic member of Congress to call for Biden to withdraw,^[15] and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to do so.^[16] In an ABC interview Biden repeatedly rejected taking an independent medical evaluation^[17] and said there were "no indications of any serious condition."^[18] He told congressional Democrats in a letter that he would continue his campaign,^[19] even as several top House Democrats told Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on a call that he needed to step aside.^[20] Donors threatened to withhold money,^[21] Rep. Adam Schiff joined the calls,^[22] and an AP-NORC poll found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats wanted Biden to withdraw.^[23] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged him in a private meeting to bow out, ABC News reported.^[24]

Biden ended his campaign on Sunday, July 21, while isolating with COVID; his senior staff learned of the decision one minute before the public did.^[1][25] He endorsed Harris,^[2] and Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison promised a "transparent and orderly process" to choose a nominee.^[26] Harris moved quickly to lock up delegates^[27] and raised a record $81 million in 24 hours.^[28] In an Oval Office address on July 24, Biden said he was "passing the torch."^[29][30] He later acknowledged that pressure from fellow Democrats had contributed to his decision.^[31]

Harris was the only candidate to qualify for the nomination,^[32] and the DNC's virtual roll call began on August 1.^[33] The next day Harrison announced that she had won enough delegate votes, making her the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead a major party's ticket.^[3] After interviewing Walz, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro,^[34] she picked Walz.^[4] In her 2025 book she wrote that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had been her first choice but that the pairing was too risky.^[35]

The convention ran August 19 to 22 in Chicago's United Center, with pro-Gaza protests outside.^[36][37] Biden spoke on the opening night,^[38] Barack and Michelle Obama on the second,^[39] and the ceremonial roll call became a dance party with state songs and celebrities.^[40] Walz accepted the vice presidential nomination on the third night,^[41] and Harris closed the convention by inviting voters to chart "a new way forward."^[5] Her campaign said it had raised $540 million since Biden's exit.^[42] The campaign that followed is told in the arc on the 2024 general election.

The withdrawal was relitigated after Trump won. Biden said in January 2025 that he believed he could have beaten Trump, though he was unsure he could have served a full second term.^[8][43] Harrison said the party had made a mistake in replacing him.^[44] Harris wrote that Biden's decision to run again amounted to "recklessness,"^[6] and Jill Biden said in 2026 that she had thought her husband was "having a stroke" during the debate.^[45] In November 2026, while promoting his memoir, Biden called the debate "not very consequential."^[46] Harris's path after her loss is followed separately.