Democratic South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn said he will back Vice President Kamala Harris if President Joe Biden bows out of the 2024 race.
Clyburn, who helped save Biden in the 2020 primary, vowed to back Harris if Biden steps down from the race following his disastrous debate performance alongside former President Donald Trump.
“I will support her if he were to step aside. But I am going to support her going forward as sometime in the future. I want this ticket to be Biden-Harris, and then we’ll see what happens after the next election. No, this spot should not in any way do anything to work around Ms. Harris. We should do everything to bolster her, whether she’s in second place or at the top of the ticket,” Clyburn told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell during a Tuesday segment.
Jim Clyburn says he will support Kamala if Biden isn’t on the Democrat ticket: “I will support her if he were to step aside.” pic.twitter.com/8nIRUnGBYv
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 2, 2024
“I will support her if he were to step aside. But I’m willing to support her going forward, as some time in the future. I want this ticket to continue to be Biden-Harris, and then — we’ll see what happens after the next election. No, this party should not in any way do anything to work around Ms. Harris. We should do everything we can to bolster her, whether she’s second place or at the top of the ticket,” he added.
Biden’s campaign hung by a thread in 2020 until Clyburn’s endorsement during a February event, spreading the notion that the then-presidential candidate was the one to defeat Trump, according to The Washington Post. The endorsement by the “kingmaker” is widely credited for Biden’s overwhelming victory in the 2020 South Carolina primary, where he reportedly won 61% of the black vote. (RELATED: CNN Analyst Says Kamala Harris Has Appeal In ‘Black Street Community’)
The vast majority of black voters, 60%, cited Clyburn’s endorsement as a key factor in their decision making in the primary, according to the outlet.
From there, Biden witnessed major victories on Super Tuesday and secured the nomination.
Harris has remained one of the most unpopular vice presidents in modern history, earning the lowest net vice presidential favorability in NBC News history with a -17 net-negative rating in June 2023. Almost 50% of respondents disapprove of the vice president, while 39.4% say they approve as of June 24, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Democratic Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first congressional Democrat to call on Biden to exit the race Tuesday, citing the risk of Trump being reelected.
