Biden’s decision to drop out crystallized Sunday. His staff knew one minute before the public did

HARPER WOODS, Michigan: After weeks of uncertainty about who will top the Democratic Party ticket in November, many voters expressed relief at the news that President Joe Biden is dropping his re-election bid and are wondering who will replace him. A dramatically changed electoral landscape.
Jerrod Kenney, a 40-year-old athletic trainer from swing-state Arizona, had planned to vote for Biden in November but was grateful for the president's decision, calling it “inevitable.” Kenney said he is excited about the next candidate, hoping it will be Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed on Sunday.
“It's the easiest choice based on the fact that Kamal Harris is the vice president and it's going to be difficult for the party to try to go in a different direction,” said Keane, who lives in Tucson. “And I think she looks ready.”
The Democratic Party has been deeply divided since Biden's poor debate performance on June 27, raising questions about his ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump in November and secure another term. Party leaders had called on Biden to step down, but his reluctance to budge left voters nationwide uncertain about facing Trump in November.
A recent AP-NORC poll showed nearly two-thirds of Democrats say Biden should drop out of the presidential race, while a majority believe Harris would do well in the top spot.
Kaine's relief that the saga surrounding Biden's decision is over was echoed by voters nationwide in an interview with The Associated Press. In key swing states like Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada, many expressed optimism about the party's next nominee — whether it's Harris or someone else.

In Pittsburgh, Fred Johnston said he was scared of another Trump presidency and had long worried that Biden might not beat Trump again. After witnessing Biden's flailing debate performance, he was eager to ditch Biden and hand his candidacy to Harris.
“Kamal is someone we can vote for, and we need that,” Johnston said.
He also thinks she could win Pennsylvania: “I don't have any logical basis for it, but it's good to hope. I haven't hoped for a while.”
In Las Vegas, Lucy Oano, 68, said she was proud of Biden's decision to drop out of the race and his move to quickly endorse Harris.
“He's ending on a great note,” Ouano said. “Trump should be worried. He's now running against someone stronger.”
Oano, who moved to the U.S. from Thailand with her parents in the 1960s as a child, said she never imagined the outcome when she attended a Harris rally in Las Vegas a few weeks ago to calm her quiet concerns about Biden's re-election campaign. .
At the time, she told the AP that while she was planning to vote for Biden, she wanted Harris at the top of the ticket.
“She's going to get Asians to drum up, and she's going to get women to drum up,” Ouano said Sunday after learning of Biden's decision.
Similarly, Arthur L. Downard Jr., 72, of Portland, Oregon, viewed Biden's presidency favorably but said he was “very happy” that Biden was stepping down. A Democratic voter who cast his ballot for Biden in 2020 said his opinion of Biden changed after what he called a “disastrous” debate.
“He was a great president and he did a lot for our country. But he's too old, he's not talking,” he said. “He's not a good messenger for the Democratic Party.”
Some voters, like Lacey LeGrand of Nebraska, reluctantly planned to vote for Biden because he wasn't Trump.
“I certainly don't support Trump,” LeGrand said. “So I think by default I'm going to support Biden. I wasn't very happy about it.”
A registered Democrat in the swing district of LeGrand, Nebraska, a potentially decisive electoral vote that both Biden and Obama previously won, Harris believes she has a “shot” to defeat Trump, though she added, “I wouldn't say it's a great shot.”
But not all voters were happy with Sunday's news. Georgia voter Dorothy Redhead, 76, was “disappointed” that Biden dropped out of the race but said she “has to accept” Biden's decision as one between the president and God.
Jarvia Haynes, a New Orleans real estate agent, said she has “mixed feelings” about Biden's decision to drop out of the race.
“I don't think President Biden should have quit,” she said. “On the other hand, maybe it's for the best.”
Haines, 72, of Harvey, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, quickly turned her attention to who will lead the Democratic ticket, saying she is “very positive that Vice President Kamala Harris will be able to handle the job.”
She added that she hopes Harris will choose Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as her running mate.
“I think two women are going to change the whole dynamic of the race,” said Haynes, who introduced Harris to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Joined as a member of, historically the first intercollegiate African American society. The group boasts more than 360,000 members in undergraduate and graduate chapters in 12 countries and can be a strong political force in its own right.
Barbara Orr, a psychiatrist in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area, said she thought Biden was capable of running for president, defeating Trump and serving as president. She saw his decision to end his candidacy, however, as a sign that he wasn't driven by ego and, because of his debate performance, voters assumed he couldn't do the job.
Orr, 65, said she's not “super impressed” by Harris, “but she can rise to the occasion. It's happened before in history.”
He also acknowledged that Harris didn't get a chance to prove his mettle as a candidate against Trump.
Orr, a self-described progressive who favors Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president in 2020, said she would prefer Whitmer to Biden on the Democratic ticket.
“I love what he stands for,” Orr said.
Joe DeFrane was out kayaking when a text informed him that Biden had left. While the Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, resident said she wasn't shocked to learn of the development, one thing surprised her.
“I was waiting to see if all the boats out there would scream with joy, because a lot of them are Trump fans. And I didn't hear anything,” DeFren said after sitting down for dinner at a restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Harper Woods.
Biden visited them earlier this year, a moment that manager George Ledbetter said was “the best”.
The Ledbetters' first reaction to the news came down to one word: “Why?”
“He is a good president. I like Biden,” Ledbetter said. But, he added, “you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Ledbetter said he would support Harris despite his disappointment.
“I'll take that too. I think she can do it. First woman president. That would be great. African-American president. That would be great again,” said Ledbetter, who is black.
As for Defren, he said he'll see what happens before and during the Democratic National Convention.
“It's going to be something we've never seen in our lifetime,” said Defren, who voted Democrat in recent elections. “It should be entertaining.”