Vice President Kamala Harris visited President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware on Monday, marking her first campaign stop since the president said he would no longer seek reelection.
Harris, who has already racked up endorsements to be the Democratic presidential nominee and commitments from delegates, traveled to Wilmington and visited with staff at the campaign headquarters.
President Joe Biden called in to the headquarters on Monday afternoon from where he is in isolation at his home in Rehoboth, recovering from COVID-19. He thanked campaign staffers and urged them to begin their work to elect Harris.
"If I didn't have COVID I'd be standing there with you," he told them. "I'm so proud of what you've all done."
"I know yesterday's news was surprising, and it's a hard thing to hear, but it's the right thing to do," President Biden said. "I think we've made the right decision."
"The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn't changed at all," the president said, telling staffers he would be out campaigning for Harris when possible.
Harris, meanwhile, said the past week has been a "rollercoaster" but reiterated her belief in the campaign team.
“It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination and to win," she said.
On Sunday, Harris filed official paperwork as a candidate for president with the Federal Election Commission.
She said she had asked Jen O'Malley Dillon to run her campaign.
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"One day down. 105 to go. Together, we're going to win this," the vice president said on X.
"Joe Biden's legacy of accomplishments over the past three years is unmatched in modern history," she said.
Harris' campaign got off to a fast start Sunday. In addition to getting endorsements from potential Democratic rivals, her campaign announced that she had raised $49.6 million as of Monday morning.
As of Monday, Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ find 964 pledged delegates have promised their support for Harris at the Democratic National Convention, which puts her nearly halfway to the 1,976-delegate threshold to secure the nomination.
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