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

HARPER WOODS, Mich.: After weeks of uncertainty about who will top the Democratic ticket in November, many voters expressed relief at the news that President Joe Biden would drop out and began thinking about who -could replace in a dramatically changed electoral landscape.
Jerod Keene, a 40-year-old track coach from the swing state of Arizona, had planned to vote for Biden in November, but was grateful for the president's decision, calling it “inevitable.” Keene said he was excited about the next candidate, hoping it would be Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed on Sunday.
“Kamala Harris is the easiest choice based on the fact that she's vice president, and it would be hard for the party to try to go in another direction on that,” said Keene, who lives in Tucson. “And I think she looks ready.”
The Democratic Party has been deeply divided since Biden's poor performance in the June 27 debates, leaving many questioning his ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump in November and secure another term . Party leaders have increasingly called for Biden to step down, but his reluctance to recuse himself has left voters across the country uncertain about who will face Trump in November.
Recent AP-NORC polls revealed that nearly two-thirds of Democrats thought Biden should drop out of the presidential race, while a majority thought Harris would do well in first place.
Keene's relief that the saga surrounding Biden's decision is over was echoed by voters across the country in interviews with The Associated Press. In key 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 terrified of another Trump presidency and had long worried that Biden could not beat Trump again. After seeing Biden's choppy performance in the debates, he was eager for Biden to drop out and hand the candidacy over to Harris.
“Kamala is someone we can vote for and that's what we need,” Johnston said.
He also thinks he can win Pennsylvania: “I have no logical basis for that, but it's good to have hope. I haven't had hope in a while.”
In Las Vegas, Lucy Ouano, 68, said she was proud of both Biden's decision to drop out of the race and his decision to quickly endorse Harris.
“It ends on a great note,” Ouano said. “Trump should be worried. Now he's facing someone strong.”
Ouano, who immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand in 1960 as a toddler with her parents, said she could not have imagined this outcome just weeks ago when she attended a Harris rally in Las Vegas meant to calm concerns about Biden's re-election campaign. .
At the time, she told the AP that while she planned to vote for Biden, she wanted Harris at the top of the ticket.
“He's going to put Asians on the toilet and women,” Oaano said Sunday after learning of Biden's decision.
Similarly, Arthur L. Downard Jr., a 72-year-old resident of Portland, Ore., viewed Biden's presidency favorably but said he was “very pleased” that Biden had stepped aside. The Democratic voter, who cast his vote 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 articulate,” he said. “It's not a good messenger for the Democratic Party.”
Some voters, like Nebraska resident Lacey LeGrand, had planned to reluctantly vote for Biden simply because he wasn't Trump.
“I certainly don't support Trump,” LeGrand said. “So I think by default I'm going to end up supporting Biden. I wasn't very happy about it.”
LeGrand, a registered Democrat in the swing district of Nebraska, a potentially decisive electoral vote that Biden and Obama previously won, believes Harris “has a chance” to beat Trump, though she added, “I wouldn't say that it's a great chance.”
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 “just has to accept” Biden's decision as one between the president and God.
Jarvia Haynes, a New Orleans real estate agent, said he has “mixed feelings” about Biden's decision to leave the race.
“I don't think President Biden should have quit,” she said. “On the other hand, maybe it's better.”
Haynes, 72, of Harvey, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, was quick to focus on who should lead the Democratic ticket, saying she was “very positive that Vice President Kamala Harris is capable of handling the job “.
She added that she hopes Harris will choose Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be her running mate.
“I think two women would change the whole dynamic of the race,” said Haynes, who joins Harris as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first historically African-American intercollegiate sorority. The group has more than 360,000 members in graduate and undergraduate chapters 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, defeating Trump and serving as president. Still, she saw his decision to end his run as a sign that he isn't driven by ego and acknowledged that because of his performance in the debates, voters assume he can't do the job.
Orr, 65, said she wasn't “super impressed” with Harris, “but she might rise to the occasion. This has happened before in history.”
She also acknowledged that Harris didn't get a chance to prove her mettle as a candidate against Trump.
Orr, a self-described progressive who favored Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for the presidency in 2020, said he would probably prefer Whitmer to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.
“I love what she stands for,” Orr said.
Joe DeFrain was out kayaking when a text message informed him that Biden had dropped out. While the Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., resident said he wasn't surprised to learn about the development, one thing did surprise him.
“I was waiting to see if all the boaters out there would scream with joy, because a lot of them are Trump fans. And I didn't hear anything,” DeFrain said after sitting down to 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 said was “the best ever.”
Ledbetters' first reaction to the news boiled 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 he can do it. The first woman president. It would be nice. African American president. It would be nice again,” said Ledbetter, who is Black.
As for DeFrain, he said he will be watching to see what happens before and during the Democratic National Convention.
“It's going to be something we've never seen in our lifetime,” said DeFrain, who voted Democratic in the recent election. “It should be fun.”