Gretchen Whitmer Won’t Challenge Kamala Harris after Joe Biden Quits

Vice President Kamala Harris launched her presidential campaign Sunday, just over two hours after President Joe Biden dropped his own bid and backed her.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she wrote in a statement to the press. “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”

It remains to be seen exactly how much competition Harris will face for the nomination, but there’s at least one Democrat she won’t have to worry about. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D), considered a rising star in the party and someone who could do well in the swing states, said she would not challenge Harris, Bloomberg reported .

In her statement, Harris thanked Biden for his service and leadership, calling his decision to step aside “selfless and patriotic.” She reminisced about how the two politicians first met.

“I first came to know President Biden through his son Beau,” Harris wrote. “We were friends from our days working together as Attorneys General of our home states. As we worked together, Beau would tell me stories about his Dad. The kind of father—and the kind of man—he was. And the qualities Beau revered in his father are the same qualities, the same values, I have seen every single day in Joe’s leadership as President: His honesty and integrity. His big heart and commitment to his faith and his family. And his love of our country and the American people.”

Harris also talked up Biden’s policy wins—wins which she will likely push to the foreground in her own campaign as a key member of his administration.

“His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office.”

The statement came from a “Biden for President” email address and was listed as “Paid for by Biden for President.”

The president’s team quickly handled the paperwork, filing forms with the FEC to rename his committee, “Harris for President.” Two major joint fundraising committees, previously “Biden Action Fund” and “Biden Victory Fund,” got similar rebrands.

“Vice President Harris is now a candidate for United States President in the 2024 election and will henceforth be conducting campaign activities only in pursuit of that office,” the team wrote.

Read more at The Daily Beast.