--- title: Momentum Builds Behind Harris, But Nomination Isn't Hers Yet description: Key Democratic figures were quick to endorse Harris, but those who stopped short of backing her were notable. canonical: https://time.com/7001101/kamala-harris-endorsements-obama-clyburn/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-22T00:09:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:46.750Z article:section: Politics og:title: Momentum Builds Behind Kamala Harris—But Obstacles Remain og:description: Key Democratic figures were quick to endorse Harris, but those who stopped short of backing her were notable. og:url: https://time.com/7001101/kamala-harris-endorsements-obama-clyburn/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt07d76225e23b7b88/698a5900d07533e61fe7101a/GettyImages-2161823694.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Vice President Harris Holds Campaign Event In Kalamazoo, Michigan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Momentum Builds Behind Kamala Harris—But Obstacles Remain twitter:description: Key Democratic figures were quick to endorse Harris, but those who stopped short of backing her were notable. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt07d76225e23b7b88/698a5900d07533e61fe7101a/GettyImages-2161823694.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Momentum Builds Behind Kamala Harris—But Obstacles to Nomination Remain > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Vice President Kamala Harris Talks About Biden At First Public Appearance Since Endorsement Vertical [Watch (HLS stream): Vice President Kamala Harris Talks About Biden At First Public Appearance Since Endorsement Vertical](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KhRALcBC.m3u8) (1:53)  _Published 2024-07-24. Obama and Pelosi stopped short of endorsing her_  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Jul 22, 2024 12:09 AM UTC  Vice President Kamala Harris on July 17, 2024 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Vice President Kamala Harris on July 17, 2024 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Chris duMond—Getty Images  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Jul 22, 2024 12:09 AM UTC Almost immediately after President Joe Biden [abandoned](https://time.com/7001028/why-joe-biden-stepped-down/) his bid for a second term and formally backed his Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him, major figures from across the Democratic Party lined up behind her, giving Harris a wave of momentum in an unprecedented fight for a major party’s presidential nomination. Yet a few notable exceptions who held back their support suggests the Vice President doesn’t have the nomination locked up just yet. Important pillars of Biden’s base were already backing Harris late Sunday, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and the influential fundraising arm of the Congressional Black Caucus. Union leaders from the AFL-CIO, a crucial part of any Democratic candidate’s national ground game, also signaled their enthusiasm for Harris on Sunday and could vote on an official endorsement of her in the coming days. Biden has moved swiftly to try to amass insurmountable support behind Harris well before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago on Aug. 19\. The Democratic Party plans to hold a virtual roll call vote to officially decide its candidate earlier in the month. Harris announced Sunday that she intended to "[earn and win](https://x.com/KamalaHarris/status/1815122383415529963)" the nomination. To officially become the party’s candidate, a nominee requires the support of 1,976 delegate votes. More than 3,000 were committed to support Biden, who was already working behind the scenes on Sunday to try to send as many of his delegates toward Harris. A few powerful Democratic voices, however, were notably silent on Harris. Former President Barack Obama, for example, issued a lengthy statement applauding the decision of his former Vice President to step aside as proof that he is “a patriot of the highest order.” However, Obama didn’t mention Harris. “We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” Obama said. Similarly, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Biden a “patriotic American” but didn’t say anything about Harris. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also stopped short of endorsing Harris on Sunday. But many other powerful figures in the Democratic Party came out publicly to support Harris as their candidate. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, one of several Democratic governors often mentioned as a presidential contender, said Harris is “ready to be president.” Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who ran against Harris in the 2020 presidential primary, called Harris “a proven fighter who has been a national leader in safeguarding consumers and protecting access to abortion” and said that Harris, “as a former prosecutor” would be able to “press a forceful case against allowing Donald Trump to regain the White House.” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, another former challenger to Harris, said Sunday he would "do all that I can to help elect" Harris. Among the slew of Democrats in Congress who quickly backed Harris, few drew as much attention as [Clyburn](https://time.com/6695533/jim-clyburn-joe-biden-campaign/), whose support for Biden in 2020 delivered the party nomination for him. Antjuan Seawright, a political advisor to Clyburn and Jeffries, says Biden’s quick endorsement of Harris, minutes after he announced he was leaving the race, was a clear message to Biden’s allies that is reverberating across the party. “He promised to be a bridge candidate, that’s proof in the pudding,” says Seawright. “But also he understands that this is not about what America was, it is about what we know she can be and hope to be and Kamala Harris represents that.” ## Transcript T hank you. Greetings, everyone. Greetings. And Linda, I want to thank you for all you do to support these extraordinary student athletes, and it is good to be here with so many leaders, including, of course, members of Congress, members of our administration, and our extraordinary athletes. Our president, Joe Biden wanted to be here today. He is feeling much better and recovering fast, and he looks forward to getting back on the road. I wanted to say a few words about our President. Joe Biden's legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history. In one term, he has already, yes, you may clap. In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office. I first came to know President Biden through his son, Bo. We worked together as attorneys general in our states, and back then, Bo would often tell me stories about his dad. He would talk about the kind of father and the kind of man that Joe Biden is. The qualities that Bo revered in his father. Are the same qualities that I have seen every day in our President, H honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart, and his love, deep love of our country. I am firsthand witness that every day, our President Joe Biden fights for the American people, and we are deeply grateful for his service to our nation. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7001101/kamala-harris-endorsements-obama-clyburn/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7001101/kamala-harris-endorsements-obama-clyburn/"},"headline":"Momentum Builds Behind Kamala Harris—But Obstacles to Nomination Remain","datePublished":"2024-07-22T00:09:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:46.750Z","description":"Obama and Pelosi stopped short of endorsing her","url":"https://time.com/7001101/kamala-harris-endorsements-obama-clyburn/","keywords":["democrats"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt07d76225e23b7b88/698a5900d07533e61fe7101a/GettyImages-2161823694.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Bennett","jobTitle":"Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt07d76225e23b7b88/698a5900d07533e61fe7101a/GettyImages-2161823694.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vice President Harris Holds Campaign Event In Kalamazoo, Michigan","caption":"Vice President Harris Holds Campaign Event In Kalamazoo, Michigan","creditText":"Chris duMond—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/democrats/","name":"democrats"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7001101/kamala-harris-endorsements-obama-clyburn/","name":"Momentum Builds Behind Kamala Harris—But Obstacles to Nomination Remain"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Vice President Kamala Harris Talks About Biden At First Public Appearance Since Endorsement [Vertical]","description":"Obama and Pelosi stopped short of endorsing her","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/KhRALcBC/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-24T14:23:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KhRALcBC.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7001101/kamala-harris-endorsements-obama-clyburn/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7001101/kamala-harris-endorsements-obama-clyburn/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```