Biden's decision to abandon Democrats across the country is a relief and looks to the future
HARPER WOODS, Michigan: After weeks of uncertainty about who will be at the top of the Democratic Party ticket in November, many voters expressed relief at the news that President Joe Biden withdrew his bid for re-election and began thinking about who might replace him. electoral landscape has changed dramatically.
Jerod Keene, a 40-year-old athletic trainer from swing-state Arizona, had planned to vote for Biden in November but praised the president's decision, calling it “inevitable.” Keene said he is excited about the next candidate, hopefully Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden endorsed on Sunday.
“Kamala Harris is the easiest choice based on who she is as vice president and it's hard for the party to try to go in a different direction on that,” said Keene, who lives in Tucson. “And I think he looks ready.”
The Democratic Party has been deeply divided since Biden's poor debate performance on June 27, which left many questioning his ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump in November and win another term. Party leaders have called on Biden to step down, but his reluctance to budge has left voters nationwide uncertain about who will face Trump in November.
A recent AP-NORC poll found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats felt Biden should drop out of the presidential race, while a majority believed Harris would do well in the top job. .
Keene's relief that the saga surrounding Biden's decision was echoed by voters across the country in an interview with The Associated Press. In key swing states like Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada, many have expressed optimism about who will be elected next – either Harris or someone else.
In Pittsburgh, Fred Johnston said he feared another Trump presidency and had long worried that Biden could not beat Trump again. After seeing Biden's shaky debate performance, he was eager for Biden to drop out and hand over his candidacy to Harris.
“Kamala is someone we can vote for, and that's what we need,” Johnston said.
He also thinks he can win Pennsylvania: “I have no logical basis for that, but it's good to have hope. I haven't had hope in a while.”
In Las Vegas, Lucy Ouano, 68, said she was proud of Biden's decision to drop out of the race and his quick move to endorse Harris.
“It ends on a positive note,” Ouano said. “Trump should be worried. He is now running against strong people.
Ouano, who immigrated to the United States in 1960 from Thailand as a child with his parents, said he did not expect that outcome until a few weeks ago when he attended a Harris rally in Las Vegas. Vegas he was meant to put to rest concerns about the Biden campaign. .
At the time, he told the AP that if he was going to vote for Biden, he wanted Harris at the top of the ticket.
“He's going to bring in the Asian drum, and raise the women's drum,” Oaano said Sunday after learning of Biden's decision.
Similarly, Arthur L. Downard Jr., a 72-year-old resident of Portland, Oregon, viewed Biden's presidency favorably but said he was “really glad” that Biden is out. The Democratic candidate, who voted for Biden in 2020, said his opinion of Biden changed after what he called a “dangerous” debate.
“He has been a great president and has done a lot for our country. But he is too old, he can't speak,” he said. “He's not a good ambassador for the Democratic Party.”
Some voters, like Lacey LeGrand, a Nebraska resident, were reluctant to vote for Biden simply because he is not Trump.
“I really don't support Trump,” LeGrand said. “So I think by default I'm going to support Biden. I wasn't too happy about it.”
LeGrand, a registered Democrat in Nebraska's swing district, a potential deciding vote in the election previously won by Biden and Obama, believes Harris “has a shot” at of Trump's victory, though he added, “I wouldn't say it was a big shot.”
But not all voters were happy with Sunday's news. Georgia voter Dorothy Redhead, 76, was “disappointed” that Biden dropped out of the race but said she “has to accept” Biden's decision to be one between the president and God.
New Orleans real estate agent Jarvia Haynes said she has “mixed feelings” about Biden's decision to drop out of the race.
“I don't think President Biden should resign,” he said. “On the other hand, maybe it's for the best.”
Haynes, 72, of Harvey, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, was quick to focus on who should lead the Democratic ticket, saying he was “very positive about Vice President Kamala Harris being able to handle the job. “
He added that he hopes Harris will choose Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as his running mate.
“I think two women are going to change the dynamics of the whole race,” said Haynes, who joined Harris as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first fraternity of the African American community. The group has more than 360,000 graduate and undergraduate members in 12 countries and can be a formidable political force in its own right.
Barbara Orr, a psychiatrist in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, said she thought Biden could have run for president, beaten Trump and become president. But he considered his decision to end his candidacy as a sign that he was not guided by his own pride and he knew that because of his debating skills, the voters thought he was not up to the task.
Orr, 65, said he's not “really impressed” with Harris, “but maybe he'll get to that point. It's been there in history.
He also admitted that Harris did not have time to prove his mettle as Trump's candidate.
Orr, who is representing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president in 2020, said he would prefer Whitmer to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.
“I like what he stands for,” Orr said.
Joe DeFrain was out kayaking when a text message informed him that Biden had dropped out. While the resident of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, said he was not surprised to learn of the development, one thing surprised him.
“I've been waiting for all the boaters to cheer, because most of them are Trump fans. And I didn't hear anything,” DeFrain said after sitting down to eat at They Say, a restaurant in Detroit's Harper Woods neighborhood.
Biden visited They Say earlier this year, a moment manager George Ledbetter called “the best ever.”
Ledbetters first reaction to the news came in one word: “Why?”
“He is a good president. I love Biden,” Ledbetter said. But, he added, “You have to do what you have to do.”
Ledbetter said he will support Harris despite his disappointment.
“I'll take that too. I think he can do it. First female president. That would be fine. African American President. It's a good fit again,” said Ledbetter, who is Black.
As for DeFrain, he 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 DeFrain, who voted Democratic in the last election. “It should be entertaining.”
