International

Democrats Search For New 2024 Candidate After Biden’s Exit

Published

2 years ago

July 22, 2024

Charles Flames

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by Wale Ewedimi

Democrats were in uncharted territory Monday as they raced against the clock to find a new standard-bearer after President Joe Biden’s stunning late exit from the 2024 race for the White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris was in pole position as the party promised a “transparent and orderly process” to replace the 81-year-old Biden, who bowed Sunday to Democratic concerns over his age and capacity to beat Republican Donald Trump in November.

The announcement set off a scramble to confirm a new candidate at the Democratic convention in Chicago on August 19 — and perhaps weeks sooner.

Democratic lawmakers and party elders, including at least a third of US senators, some key governors, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, have rallied behind Harris, who crucially also received Biden’s swift endorsement.

But many big names — from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his influential predecessor Nancy Pelosi to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and former president Barack Obama — were initially holding back.

“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead,” Obama said in a statement in the wake of Biden’s announcement.

“But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”

– ‘Full support’ –

Harris — who is Black and South Asian, and the only woman vice president in US history — appeared to have no immediate rivals, and any challenger may have a very small window to pitch an alternative path forward.

Potential convention delegates were being told to expect a vote on August 1 to put Harris’s name formally atop the ticket, more than two weeks before the gathering, CBS reported.

Calls for an open convention in Chicago have been muted so far, with potential challengers such as popular California governor Gavin Newsom backing Harris.

“Yes, there’s a process to go through and, yes, she must earn it. But she earned in many ways when Joe Biden selected her to be his vice president,” former Missouri senator Claire McCaskill said on MSNBC.

The Democratic ticket has been in disarray since Biden’s dismal debate performance in June, with Republicans coalescing around Trump after the attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania eight days ago.

Biden spent more than three weeks resisting calls to step down but then dropped his bombshell as he recovered from Covid at his Delaware beach house.

The veteran Democrat said it had been the “greatest honor of my life” to be president and promised to address the nation later this week, offering his “full support and endorsement” for Harris.

– Harris ‘most likely’ –

Biden’s exit makes him the first president in 56 years not to seek a second term and the first in US history to quit so late in the calendar.

Donna Patterson, an analyst and professor in Delaware State University’s political science department, said his exit had injected “new energy” into the campaign.

“In the hours since the announcement, and with Biden’s endorsement, a Kamala Harris presidential candidacy seems most likely,” she added.

Biden’s move also makes Trump, 78, the oldest presidential nominee in US history. He fired off a series of posts on Truth Social in reaction to the news slamming Biden as “not fit to run” and “certainly not fit to serve.”

He also called for the next presidential debate, set for September, to be moved from ABC News to Trump-friendly Fox News.

Meanwhile running mate J.D. Vance underlined that Harris had been “every step of the way” with Biden, “the worst president in my lifetime.”

The vice president struggled to make an impact in her first years in the White House, but performed strongly on the campaign trail on key issues such as abortion.

“Anyone the Democrats nominate — and I’m pretty sure it will be Harris — will have challenges,” said Donald Nieman, a political analyst and professor at Binghamton University in New York state.

“But the announcement shifts the focus away from Biden’s physical and intellectual limitations, where it has been for the past three weeks.”

AFP

Related Topics:Biden Democrats Exit Featured

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International

Burnham becomes PM, vows 10-year plan to stabilise UK

The 56-year-old is the sixth prime minister to enter Downing Street in the last 10 years.

Published

5 hours ago

July 20, 2026

OCHEFA

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•Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham poses with Britain’s King Charles III on July 20, 2026 (Photo by Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP).

Andy Burnham became British prime minister Monday after meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace and was set to set out his vision for the country after taking over from Keir Starmer.

In his first speech, Burnham vowed to put forward a 10-year plan for Britain, saying the country needed to make politics work.

“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again,” Burnham said just after being appointed by King Charles III to take over from Keir Starmer.

He pledged to “issue my first instruction to end rough sleeping in our country” once he starts work.

Starmer departed Downing Street on Monday morning, insisting in a farewell speech his two years in office had made Britain a better place.

The monarch met Starmer to accept his resignation and Burnham arrived next for the formal procedure in which the king asked him to form the next government and he accepted.

The 56-year-old is the sixth prime minister to enter Downing Street in the last 10 years.

International

US Vice President Vance announces birth of baby boy

The birth marks the latest addition to the Vance family. Vance and Usha got married in 2014 and previously had three children before welcoming their new son.

Published

11 hours ago

July 20, 2026

OCHEFA

12 Views

United States Vice President JD Vance has announced the birth of his son, saying both the newborn and his wife, Usha Vance, are healthy.

The birth marks the latest addition to the Vance family. Vance and Usha got married in 2014 and previously had three children before welcoming their new son.

Vance made the announcement in a statement shared on Sunday, expressing gratitude to the medical personnel who assisted during the delivery.

Vance also paid tribute to the medical teams at Walter Reed Medical Centre and the White House Medical Unit for their care and support.

“We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning.

“Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother,“ he said.

International

Andy Burnham set to become Labour leader before taking over as UK PM

Burnham, who has since become known as the “king of the North,” returned to Westminster in June after securing a huge majority in the Makerfield by-election, comfortably beating out challengers from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party and Rupert Lowe’s hard-right Restore Britain.

Published

3 days ago

July 17, 2026

OCHEFA

42 Views

• Andy Burnham / Euro News

Andy Burnham is set to be announced as the Labour Party’s new leader on Friday.

Euro News reports that the Makerfield MP is scheduled to be unveiled at a special press conference before taking over as the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade on Monday.

Burnham is expected to deliver a speech during the conference where he will reportedly pledge to be “unashamedly Labour” and vow that his government will have the “courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected.”

Burnham was left with a clear path to Downing Street after his last potential leadership rival ruled out challenging last week.

He received 379 nominations from Labour MPs for the party leadership out of a possible 403.

His uncontested run has sparked concern from some analysts and government insiders, however, and opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Labour of “running scared” of scrutiny.

It comes after Keir Starmer announced he was stepping down as PM last month, as pressure continued to build in the wake of Labour’s disastrous local election results in May.

Who is Andy Burnham?

Born on Merseyside in the northwest of England and raised in the village of Culcheth in Cheshire, Burnham has said he was first inspired to enter politics after watching “Boys From The Blackstuff,” an acclaimed 1982 TV show about five unemployed men in Liverpool navigating life in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain.

He went on to study English at the University of Cambridge before starting out in journalism, working for a number of trade publications.

He soon made the jump into politics, taking a job as a researcher for the late Tessa Jowell, a former MP for Dulwich, while in his early 20s.

He eventually became MP for Leigh in 2001, a position he held until 2017, and served in a number of senior ministerial positions, including as secretary of state for health and chief secretary to the Treasury. He unsuccessfully ran for the Labour leadership in 2010 and 2015, losing to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, respectively.

In 2017, he took over as mayor of Greater Manchester, overseeing a period of huge growth and development and gaining a reputation for his loyal defence of the region during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.