Joe Biden has decided to stand down in the race for president after weeks of damaging revelations about his mental fitness.
The 81-year-old tried to bat away calls to quit the race, insisting he was the only person who could defeat Donald Trump.
But donors, party members and bigwigs finally forced him to withdraw his candidacy.
The calls for Mr Biden to stand aside escalated from his disastrous debate with Trump on June 27, in which he repeatedly lost his train of thought.
What happens now Biden has quit?
There is no precedent in modern US history for a presidential nominee to drop out this close to an election.
The selection of Mr Biden’s replacement will be confirmed at the Democrat National Convention, which this year begins on August 19.
Delegates to the convention anoint the party’s candidate at a formal vote.
It is also possible that the selection could take place in a roll-call vote in a virtual event weeks before the election.
As Mr Biden swept the Democrat primary, in which he faced only a minor challenge from Congressman Dean Phillips, he won almost 3,900 of the party’s 4,000 delegates.
Under the Democratic rule book, those delegates are expected to “reflect the sentiment of those who elected them”.
Mr Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris may mean many feel they should follow his lead.
However, the delegates are now free to vote as they choose and those delegates could decide an alternative candidate is better placed.
Ms Harris will need support from party bigwigs as well as the other names being floated as potential candidates to secure the nominations.
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, and Gavin Newsom have been touted as alternatives.
They expressed support for Mr Biden following his disastrous debate and may feel that putting themselves forward is unwise.
Ms Harris’s team has briefed that they would forcefully object if a white candidate was promoted over her head, ignoring her position as the first ever black woman to be sworn in as vice president.
Who is Kamala Harris, who Biden is backing for president?
President Joe Biden’s poor performance on the debate stage spurred mounting criticism about his ability to win the election. As anxiety turned to tension within the Democratic party, her name rose up the list of replacement candidates.
With Mr Biden’s announcement that he will be ending his campaign and putting his support behind her, Ms Harris has finally reached a position she’d long sought: the top of the Democratic ticket, and potentially the presidency.
But the journey there has been fraught and full of difficult questions, especially in recent months.
Four years ago, the one-time candidate for the Democratic nomination would have welcomed the party’s praises. By July 2024, Harris was in a more precarious position as part of an embattled incumbent ticket, her chances of another term tethered to Mr Biden’s performance.
In the 24 hours after the debate debacle, Ms Harris chose strong loyalty to Mr Biden.
The vice-president spoke on CNN, MSNBC and at a campaign rally. She defended her political partner’s record and attacked their opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“We believe in our president, Joe Biden, and we believe in what he stands for,” she said at the rally.
Ms Harris never wavered as a new well of support within the Democratic party pushed her into the spotlight and critics pressed Mr Biden to retire.
Still, it’s a second chance at a presidential campaign for the first woman as well as the first black and Asian-American to serve as vice-president.
Despite struggling to appeal to voters in 2020 and having low approval ratings during her tenure as vice president, Ms Harris’ supporters point to her advocacy for reproductive rights, appeal among black voters and her background as a prosecutor who would be running against a now-convicted felon to make the case for her serving as commander-in-chief.
« I believe she has been instrumental in addressing key issues such as voting rights and immigration reform, » Nadia Brown, director of Georgetown University’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program, said.
« She has also been Biden’s most powerful surrogate on issues of abortion access and outreach to black communities. »
