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 would top the Democratic Party's ticket in November, many voters expressed relief at the news that President Joe Biden was withdrawing his candidacy for re-election and began thinking about who might replace him in a dramatically changed electoral environment.
Jerod Keene, 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.” Keene said he is excited to see who the next nominee will be and hopes it will be Vice President Kamala Harris, who endorsed Biden on Sunday.
“Kamala Harris is the easiest choice because she's vice president and it would be difficult for the party to go in a different direction on that,” said Keene, who lives in Tucson. “And I think she seems ready.”
The Democratic Party has been deeply divided since Biden's poor performance at the June 27 debate, with many doubting his ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump in November and secure another term. Party leaders had increasingly called for Biden to step down, but his reticence left voters across the country uncertain about who would run against Trump in November.
Recent AP-NORC polls have found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats believe Biden should withdraw from the presidential race, while a majority believe Harris would perform well in the top job.
Keene's relief that the saga surrounding Biden's decision was over was shared by voters across the country in interviews with The Associated Press. In key swing states such as Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada, many expressed optimism about the party's next nominee – whether it will be Harris or someone else.

In Pittsburgh, Fred Johnston said he was very afraid of another Trump presidency and had long feared Biden could not beat Trump again. After watching Biden's shaky debate performance, he hoped Biden would drop out and hand his candidacy to Harris.
“Kamala is someone we can elect, and that’s what we need,” Johnston said.
He also believes that she can win Pennsylvania: “I have no logical basis for it, but it's good to have hope. I haven't had hope for a long time.”
In Las Vegas, 68-year-old Lucy Ouano said she was proud of both Biden's decision to drop out of the race and his quick support for Harris.
“He ends his election with a great result,” Ouano said. “Trump should be worried. He is now running against a strong candidate.”
Ouano, who immigrated to the United States from Thailand with her parents as a young child in 1960, said she could not have imagined this outcome just a few weeks ago when she attended a Harris rally in Las Vegas aimed at allaying concerns about Biden's re-election campaign.
At the time, she told AP that while she planned to vote for Biden, she wanted Harris at the top of the ballot.
“She will mobilize Asians, and she will mobilize women,” Oaano said Sunday after learning of Biden's decision.
Arthur L. Downard Jr., a 72-year-old resident of Portland, Oregon, also viewed Biden's presidency positively but said he was “very pleased” that Biden had stepped down. The Democratic voter, who voted for Biden in 2020, said his opinion of Biden changed after what he called a “disastrous” debate.
“He was a great president and accomplished a lot for our country. But he is too old and cannot express himself well,” he said. “He is not a good ambassador for the Democratic Party.”
Some voters, like Nebraska resident Lacey LeGrand, had planned to reluctantly vote for Biden simply because he was not Trump.
“I definitely don't support Trump,” LeGrand said. “I think I would have automatically supported Biden. I wasn't very happy about that.”
LeGrand, a registered Democrat in Nebraska's swing district, a potentially decisive district previously won by both Biden and Obama, believes Harris has “a chance” to defeat Trump, but added, “I wouldn't say it's a great chance.”
But not all voters were happy about Sunday's news. Dorothy Redhead, a 76-year-old Georgia voter, was “disappointed” that Biden had dropped out of the race, but said she “just had to accept” Biden's decision as a choice between the president and God.
Jarvia Haynes, a New Orleans real estate agent, said she had “mixed feelings” about Biden’s decision to drop out of the race.
“I don't think President Biden should have dropped out,” she said. “On the other hand, maybe it's for the best.”
Haynes, 72, of Harvey, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, quickly focused on the question of who should lead the Democratic ticket, saying she was “very confident that Vice President Kamala Harris can handle the job.”
She added that she hopes Harris will choose Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer as her running mate.
“I think two women would change the whole dynamic of the campaign,” said Haynes, who along with Harris is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first intercollegiate, historically African-American sorority. The group has more than 360,000 members in 12 countries and could be a formidable political force in its own right.
Barbara Orr, a psychotherapist in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area, said she believes Biden is capable of running for president, beating Trump and serving as president. But she viewed his decision to withdraw his candidacy as a sign that he is not being guided by his ego and recognized that voters may assume he is not up to the task based on his performance in the debate.
Orr, 65, said she was not “overly impressed” with Harris, “but she might be able to rise to the occasion. This has happened before in history.”
She also acknowledged that Harris had no chance to prove her abilities as a candidate against Trump.
Orr, who describes herself as a progressive and favors Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders or Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as their 2020 presidential candidate, said she would likely prefer Whitmer to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.
“I love what she stands for,” Orr said.
Joe DeFrain was kayaking when he received a text message informing him that Biden had dropped out. While the Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, resident said he wasn't surprised to learn of the development, one thing did surprise him.
“I was waiting to see if all the boaters out there would scream for joy, because a lot of them are Trump fans. And I didn't hear anything,” DeFrain said after sitting down for dinner at They Say, a restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Harper Woods.
Biden visited They Say earlier this year, a moment that manager George Ledbetter called “the best ever.”
Ledbetter's first reaction to the news was one word: “Why?”
“He's a good president. I like Biden,” Ledbetter said. But he added: “You have to do what you have to do.”
Ledbetter said he would support Harris despite his disappointment.
“I'll take that too. I think she can do it. The first female president. That would be nice. An African-American president. That would be nice again,” said Ledbetter, who is black.
DeFrain said he will watch what happens before and during the Democratic convention.
“This will be something we've never seen in our lifetime,” said DeFrain, who voted for the Democrats in the last election. “It should be entertaining.”