Georgia Dems quickly rally behind Harris as replacement for Biden after the president withdraws • Georgia Recorder

Georgia Democrats who stuck with President Joe Biden in the aftermath of his alarming debate performance last month quickly started to line up behind his chosen successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the hours after Biden announced he would bow out of the race.

“President Biden said Georgia made him president, and he’s right. There is more work to be done. Our eyes are on the prize,” the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, Congresswoman Nikema Williams, said in a statement Sunday afternoon. 

“We must defeat the twice-impeached, failed, 34-time convicted felon Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We stand firmly behind Vice President Harris to make it happen,” the Atlanta Democrat said.

Congressional Democrats heaped praise on Biden for his decades of public service and the accomplishments of his single term in office before throwing their support to Harris, a California native who has led the administration’s initiatives on reproductive rights and gun control. 

“Vice President Harris is now absolutely the right candidate to defeat Donald Trump and unite our country. (Harris) is prepared, ready to win, & has my full support,” Ossoff posted to social media Sunday.

Biden narrowly won Georgia by about 12,000 votes in 2020, making him the first Democratic presidential candidate to win here in three decades and helping to cement Georgia’s status as a battleground state. But he has trailed in the polls here in his bid for a second term. 

Harris has been a frequent visitor to Georgia, making more than a dozen trips here since being sworn in as vice president.

Georgia Democrats, though, had largely stood with Biden even as more national party leaders pressured him to bow out of the race. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Marietta Democrat who stuck with an embattled Biden, said Sunday that she “unequivocally” endorsed Harris. 

Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson, a Lithonia Democrat, dismissed concerns about Biden’s ability to win in November as recently as last week. Referring to himself Sunday as “ride-or-die loyal to President Biden,” Johnson praised the Biden administration’s accomplishments, such as the president’s leadership through the pandemic. 

“I thank President Biden for his leadership and service to our nation, and I pledge my support to Vice President Kamala Harris. Together, we will defeat Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda, and elect Kamala Harris to finish the job that Biden/Harris started,” Johnson said in a statement.

Georgia Republicans recalibrated their attacks, somewhat.

“Any Democrat that steps forward to secure the nomination takes ownership of the disastrous Biden-Harris agenda,” state Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, a Dahlonega Republican, said in a statement.

“Pushing Joe Biden into retirement doesn’t change the direction of the country. Only electing Donald Trump will get America back on the right path,” he said.

Congressman Buddy Carter of Pooler blasted Democratic leaders for how the nomination process has played out and made clear that Republicans would be sharpening their attacks on immigration, which was already central to former President Donald Trump’s campaign. Early in their administration, Biden tasked Harris with probing the “root causes” of migration from countries like Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

“This is the least democratic nomination process in American history. Washington Democrats will be held accountable for steamrolling and misleading the American people come November,” Carter said in a statement.

One aspect of the change-up is uncomplicated though: Harris should have no trouble replacing Biden on the ballot in Georgia. Ballots here must be ready by Sept. 17, which is weeks after the Democratic National Convention set for next month in Chicago.