President Joe Biden is keeping Vice President Kamala Harris intentionally close today, inviting her to join the evening meeting with Democratic governors at the White House, sharing lunch in his private dining room and taking part in a joint appearance during a call with campaign staff in Wilmington.
The overarching message, a senior campaign adviser tells: “He’s with her.”
The president continues to publicly declare his intention to stay in the race. But should he decide to step aside, a succession plan for the Democratic presidential campaign against Donald Trump is taking shape that is expected to fully highlight the Biden-Harris relationship.
Several party officials and advisers say plans are underway for Biden to immediately throw his support behind Harris, release his Democratic delegates and ask them to do the same. Former presidents and party leaders would follow suit, in hopes of avoiding a contentious fight to lead the Democratic ticket.
“Who would stand up against our historic vice president to be our nominee for president?” a senior Democratic official told, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks in advance of any formal decision from Biden.
To be sure, Harris is going to great lengths to avoid being seen as getting ahead of the president. She told her team again today the timing of this decision “is Biden’s alone to make,” one aide said.
At the White House tonight, it was notable that the president and his advisers invited Harris to join the meeting with governors, which places her in the same room as some of the very men and women who could become challengers – or, as the contingency plan lays out – potential running mates of her own, should Biden end his bid for reelection.
With four months remaining until Election Day, senior campaign advisers said it would be malpractice to not make contingency plans. The virtual roll call is expected to take place weeks before the Aug. 19 convention in Chicago, which accelerates the decision facing the campaign.
If Harris ultimately became the Democratic presidential nominee, she would inherit the political infrastructure and robust war chest, considering it is the Biden-Harris campaign.
The Democratic succession plan is waiting for one thing above all, advisers say: Biden.
