Valley voters react to Biden’s decision to end reelection bid

Their views on Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy vary by party.

On the heels of President Joe Biden announcing his exit from the presidential election Sunday, local voters on both sides of the political aisle seem to agree it was the right move.

At 1:45 p.m. Sunday, Biden’s senior staff was notified that he was stepping away from the 2024 race.

A minute later, that message was made public.

Biden announced his decision via a press release on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I think the party that claims to be sick of ‘old white men” needs to finally put its money where its mouth is and run a candidate who is a younger, non-white, woman, otherwise all of their identity politics is all talk and no action,” said Twilight resident Dan John, a Libertarian.

He doesn’t believe Biden was ever the right choice for the highest office in the nation.

“I don’t think Biden was fit to be president when he was running four years ago, when his obvious cognitive decline was much more mild than it is today,” John said.

Bill Brown, a registered Republican and North Charleroi resident, agrees that Biden wasn’t fit for the job and says he was happy to see him leave the race.

“I’m glad he dropped out, I hope he’s OK, but it needed to happen,” Brown said.

While Brown and John are aligned with different political parties, they agree that Biden should have left the race before now, if not resign from his post entirely.

“It should have happened sooner,” Brown said. “But right now, it’s the best possible move for the country.”

John believes Biden should have opted out before the primary election began.

“I think that he should have stepped down before the primary, that way the Democratic Party voters can be more democratic about who they choose as his replacement,” John said. “After all, this is about democracy, right?”

Brown said now that Biden has passed along his endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris, he should resign from office.

“He should bail out altogether,” Brown said. “He should not be in charge of anything right now.”

Charleroi Councilman and registered Republican Larry Celaschi said Biden stepping out of the running is not enough.

“Biden dropping out of the race needs to go a step further,” Celaschi said. “He also needs to resign as president and not let his wife and political advisors continue with the elder abuse of this man.

“It’s crystal clear that has been the case for quite some time.”

North Belle Vernon Council President Brett Berish, also a Republican, agrees that Biden did the right thing by dropping out.

“Sadly, all Americans have seen the struggles of our president as of late,” Berish said. “His cognitive decline has been apparent. If you support him or not, he has done the right thing for his party and our country.”

Brown said while he doesn’t support the Biden-Harris administration, Harris deserves the Democratic nomination for president.

“People voted for her,” Brown said. “They voted for Biden and Harris, so if he is done, she should have it. It doesn’t make sense for someone else to step in.”

John is more interested in whom Harris will choose as her running mate if she receives the nomination.

“The best decision she could make is to prove that the party is moving on from picking white men and pick another woman,” John said. “This would also greater counter-balance the all-white-male (Donald) Trump/ (J.D.) Vance ticket.

“People like Hillary Clinton and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer come to mind. She could even pick a surprise pick like AOC to rally the further left/Bernie Sanders wing of the party.”

If Harris does secure the nod, Brown thinks it will be the wrong move long term.

“If she gets it, if she wins in a few months, I don’t think she’ll do a good job,” Brown said. “It will be a mess, more of the same mess we are already in.

“I’m on the Trump train, and that’s who I support. That’s where this is going and we will see what happens here in a few months. God saved him (Trump) for a reason.”

Celaschi doesn’t think a Harris administration would benefit the Mon Valley.

“The vice president is very dangerous for Washington County because she supports a national ban on fracking,” Celaschi said. “Washington County has tens of thousands of jobs connected to the natural gas industry, and that means tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue to Washington County.

“This is a huge issue not only for Washington County, but for all of southwestern Pennsylvania.”

Gene Jubic, a Republican from Nottingham, contends that Democrats have lied to American citizens and he thinks Biden dropping out has a deeper meaning.

“Democrats and Harris have lied to the American people about Biden’s mental issues, they have accused President Trump about destroying democracy, but they actually are the ones who are doing it,” he said. “Biden was the Democratic nominee and they didn’t like his poll numbers so they throw him out because he couldn’t beat Trump.

“Democrats have a process to get their nominee. They said to hell with that, we will do as we please.”

Berish is also not confident Harris is the right choice.

“I admire the President’s loyalty to Vice President Harris, however, I’m not sure the Democratic Party’s message changes much to the American people,” he said. “Both parties need some fresher, sensible, moderate ideas, that appeal to all Americans.

“This country has been held hostage long enough by these extremists on both sides. Most folks I talk to are concerned about securing the border, boosting the economy, keeping our communities safe, ending senseless wars and putting the American people at the forefront.

“I’m appealing to the younger generation to please bring back class, respect and unity in politics. Turn off CNN and Fox News and simply talk to those who have opposing views. You just might find out we all want the same things. Just be kind because God knows we need it now more than ever.”

Janet Kirchner, a Democrat and Union Township resident, said she supports Harris.

“I believe (President) Joe Biden did the right thing,” she said. “Only good can come from the Democrats now. Ms. Harris will be good for a president.”

State Rep. Matt Gergely, D-McKeesport, said Biden’s decision to drop out of the election was in the best interest of the country.

“The team and support he has and had around him through his administration has come to that conclusion,” Gergely said.

State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, said Biden’s exit is sad but a courageous decision to make.

“He’s been doing an outstanding job as our president helping the middle class, (on) business development and helping folks in need,” Brewster said. “And with the vice president stepping up, she should be able to carry that agenda forward. And we’re going to get behind her and do the right thing.”

Brown said he can’t understand why no one has seen or heard from Biden directly, even before the announcement was made that he would not be representing the Democratic Party in November.

“The letter seemed to have been generated online, shared online,” Brown said.

“No one has seen or heard from him, which is crazy to me, how do we even know he is alive?” he said. “There are a lot of things happening right now in the world, in our country, that are potentially dangerous situations and he is nowhere to be found.”

Washington County Republican Party Chairman Sean Logue also questioned Biden’s absence.

“It has now been five days since the public has had a sighting of President Biden,” Logue said. “KSNV of Las Vegas reported that a hospital had been placed on alert that Biden was having a medical issue.

“Since then, his staff has tweeted that he’s ‘sick’ and a withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race was posted, purportedly from him.”

Logue also questions how Biden chose to announce he had dropped out of the race.

“When President (Lyndon) Johnson withdrew from the 1968 presidential election, the same year that his rival, Robert Kennedy, was assassinated, he did it by televised address,” Logue said. “There are many immediate problems going on in the world, including the investigation of the assassination attempt of President Trump, the disenfranchisement of the millions of Biden primary voters and a major escalation in the conflict between Israel and Yemen. The public needs to be assured that President Biden is alive and well enough to deal with these emergencies.”

Logue said the Washington County Republican Party is calling on the president to appear in public to explain his decision.

“Because of these issues, as well as the past lies that have been told about his cognitive state, WCRP is formally calling upon President Biden to make a public appearance and assure us he is actively working,” Logue said. “If this isn’t done, then we are calling upon Biden’s good friend, Sen. Bob Casey, to investigate and publicly report on Biden’s status.”

What happens next?

Biden’s decision comes after more than 14 million Democrats cast votes supporting him through the primary process.

He was quick to endorse Harris to take on Trump this fall, and encouraged his party to unite behind her.

Biden won the vast majority of delegates and every nominating contest but one, which would have made his nomination a formality.

Now that he has dropped out, those delegates will be free to support another candidate. Biden’s departure frees his delegates to vote for whomever they choose.

Harris, for now, is the only declared candidate and was working to quickly secure endorsements from a majority of delegates.

On Sunday afternoon, Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 staffers and a war chest that stood at nearly $96 million at the end of June. It got bigger by Monday morning: Campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said Harris had raised $49.6 million in donations in the first 15 hours after Biden’s endorsement.

Harris moved swiftly Monday to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House after Biden stepped aside.

She has won endorsements from the leadership of several influential caucuses and political organizations, including the AAPI Victory Fund, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, The Collective PAC, focused on building Black political power, and the Latino Victory Fund, as well as the chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the entire Congressional Black Caucus.

Endorsements Monday include Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, left a dwindling list of potential rivals to Harris.

Pennsylvania’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention voted unanimously Monday to endorse Harris as the party’s presidential nominee. Among those delegates are state Rep. Nick Pisciottano, D-West Mifflin, who is running for Brewster’s seat in the state Senate this November.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who had been one of the notable holdouts to Harris, initially encouraging a primary to strengthen the eventual nominee, endorsed Harris Monday.

Pelosi said she was lending her “enthusiastic support” to Harris’ effort to lead the party.

More than 1,000 pledged delegates have told AP or announced that they plan to support Harris at the convention, which is over half of the pledged delegates she needs in order to clinch the nomination.

Democratic National Committee rules most recently set 1,976 pledged delegates as the benchmark to win the nomination.

Winning the nomination is only the first item on a staggering political to-do list for her after Biden’s decision to exit the race.

If she’s successful at locking up the nomination, she must also pick a running mate and pivot a massive political operation to boost her candidacy instead of Biden’s with just over 100 days until Election Day.

A handful of people have already been discussed as potential running mates for Harris — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. Each have also issued statements endorsing her.

Harris made her first public appearance Monday morning at the White House, where she opened her address to National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams by praising Biden’s “unmatched” legacy, saying she was “deeply grateful for his service to our nation.”

Harris was filling in at the event for Biden, who is recovering at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., after contracting COVID-19 last week.

She was later set to travel to Wilmington, where the Biden campaign had been headquartered, to meet with her new campaign staff.

Harris, in a statement, praised Biden’s “selfless and patriotic act” in deciding to leave the race and said she intends to “earn and win” her party’s nomination.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she said.

Biden planned to discuss his decision to step aside later this week in an address to the nation.

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, but the party had announced it would hold a virtual roll call to formally nominate Biden before in-person proceedings begin.

It is unclear how it will be adjusted to reflect Biden’s exit.

Harris, if elected, would be the first woman and first person of South Asian descent to be president.

Staff writer Michael Richter, The Associated Press and news-partner WTAE contributed to this report.