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46 minutes ago<\/time><\/p>\n\n
By\u00a0Ana Faguy & Madeline Halpert,\u00a0<\/span>BBC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNewsom, Whitmer and Buttigieg<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Joe Biden on Sunday announced he would end his re-election campaign, and said Kamala Harris, his vice-president, should take his place. <\/p>\n
“I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” he wrote on X. “Democrats \u2014 it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”<\/p>\n
Ms Harris taking over is not a done deal, however. <\/p>\n
Several others have been touted as potential replacements in the weeks leading to Mr Biden’s withdrawal.<\/p>\n
Many have paid tribute to Mr Biden after his announcement – but crucially almost none have said explicitly that they support the Harris endorsement.<\/p>\n
Delegates will vote next month at the Democratic National Convention to officially confirm who will replace Mr Biden.<\/p>\n
Here is a look at the names who could challenge Ms Harris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n\n
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Gretchen Whitmer, the two-term governor of Michigan, is an increasingly popular Midwest Democrat who many pundits speculate will run for president in 2028. <\/p>\n
She has campaigned for Mr Biden in the past and has not been shy about her political aspirations. <\/p>\n
She told the New York Times she wants to see a Generation X president in 2028, but stopped short of suggesting that she might fill that role. <\/p>\n
In 2022, she led a campaign that left Michigan Democrats in control of the state’s legislature and the governor’s mansion. <\/p>\n
That political control allowed her to enact a number of progressive policies including protecting Michigan abortion access and the passage of gun safety measures. <\/p>\n
Ms Whitmer quickly stated after Mr Biden’s withdrawal that her job “will remain the same… doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump.”<\/p>\n
That, however, was not an endorsement of Ms Harris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
California Governor Gavin Newsom<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n\n
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n
California’s governor is one of the Biden administration’s fiercest surrogates. But he has political ambitions of his own. <\/p>\n
He is often listed as a possible 2028 candidate, but many Democratic pundits now say that he could replace Mr Biden. <\/p>\n
Mr Newsom raised his national profile in recent years by being a key party messenger on conservative media, and via a debate against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year. <\/p>\n
He stood by the president before his announcement. He travelled to Washington to attend meetings in July with Mr Biden and other top Democratic governors, and headlined a Biden campaign event in Michigan on the 4 July.<\/p>\n
Mr Newsom again praised Mr Biden as a “selfless” president after his withdrawal was announced. But his statement on Twitter was brief, and mentioned nothing of his own intentions nor commented on the endorsement of Ms Harris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n