LGBTQ Groups Rally Behind Kamala Harris
LGBTQ organizations rallied behind Kamala Harris following President Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.
Following President Joseph R. Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he would be dropping out of this year’s presidential race, many of the groups that were most fervently in his camp, including LGBTQ organizations, voiced their support for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden abandoned his re-election bid after relentless pressure from party insiders and weeks of panicking from liberal activists following his disastrous performance against Donald Trump in a televised debate on June 27.
For weeks, pundits — aided by the mainstream media — called into question President Biden’s age, physical fitness, and mental acuity, questioning whether the 81-year-old president could withstand the rigors of campaigning and whether he was the candidate best suited to articulate the Democratic Party’s message and stances on various issues.
Saying it was “in the best interest of my party and the country” to withdraw from the race, Biden noted he would remain in office and focus on fulfilling his duties as president for the remainder of his term, which expires on Jan. 20, 2025.
He called serving as president “the greatest honor of my life,” and indicated, in a separate social media post, that he was throwing his support behind sitting Vice President Kamala Harris for the party’s nomination.
Speaking from its position as the nation’s largest LGBTQ political advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign enthusiastically endorsed Harris while thanking Biden for his longstanding support of the LGBTQ community
“We are deeply grateful to President Biden for his more than 50 years of public service and his longtime support for the LGBTQ+ community,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement. “Today’s announcement reflects what President Biden has done his entire career and will be core to his legacy: putting the needs of Americans and his country above his own. We owe the Biden-Harris team a debt of gratitude for leading the country out of a state of chaos and constant crisis under former President Trump.”
Calling Harris a “trailblazer” and a “champion for LGBTQ+ equality” dating back to her time as District Attorney of San Francisco, Robinson also noted that the Biden-Harris administration has adopted a number of pro-LGBTQ policy positions, including support for the Respect for Marriage Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022, rules protecting LGBTQ youth from harassment in schools, appointing more than 200 LGBTQ people to various government positions, and nominating several LGBTQ judges to the federal bench.
“Convicted felon Donald Trump has already shown that he aims to destroy democracy and divide the country in his quest for power,” Robinson said. “Vice President Kamala Harris is a true champion of unity and accountability — and will fight for a country where no one is above the law and ‘justice for all’ means something.
“The Human Rights Campaign could not be prouder to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris and commit to channeling our resources and supporters to work to elect the first Black and South Asian woman president of the United States.”
Kierra Johnson, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, echoed similar sentiments, thanking Biden for being an ally to LGBTQ communities and for the pro-LGBTQ policies advanced by his administration.
“At this critical moment for our democracy and our freedoms, we have both hope and excitement for Vice President Kamala Harris and what she can do for our country,” Johnson said in a statement. “We fully expect a continued commitment to always putting our communities first. We now recommit to moving forward in the democratic process, the upcoming convention and the November elections.”
LPAC, the national LGBTQ political action committee advocating for the election of LGBTQ women and nonbinary candidates to political office, thanked Biden for his efforts to advance LGBTQ equality while in office and praised his decision to withdraw from the race as selfless, foregoing his own political ambitions for the betterment of his party and the country as a whole.
“LPAC is grateful for President Biden’s leadership and the positive impact he has had on the LGBTQ community,” Janelle Perez, the interim executive director of LPAC, said in a statement. “We thank him for his service and dedication to advancing equality and justice for all.”
“President Joe Biden is a patriot and a true believer in our democratic republic. His lifetime of public service has inspired many and this act, stepping away from our Party’s nomination, will help cement his strong legacy,” U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), the co-chairs of Equality PAC, the campaign arm of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said in a statement.
Calling Biden the “most pro-LGBTQ President in American history,” Equality PAC hailed Biden’s record of accomplishment. It promised to focus its efforts on rallying behind Harris and defeating Trump in the general election.
“From her days as Attorney General of California, Vice President Harris has staunchly defended the LGBTQ community, making sure our rights were not only protected but enshrined into law,” the organization said in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in the next administration, alongside a new Pro-Equality Majority in the House, to pass the Equality Act and ensure all LGBTQ Americans have equal rights under the law.”
For now, Biden remains in office, although it is unclear whether doing so will impede Democrats’ electoral chances in the fall.
Already, Republicans, including Trump, have attacked elected Democrats for allegedly concealing Biden’s decline, casting them not only as dishonest, but unfit to lead.
Still others have questioned whether Biden should remain in office if he is unable to campaign, characterizing the time spent on the campaign trail as an easy lift compared to his regular presidential duties.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has promised to introduce a resolution calling on Harris and members of the presidential cabinet to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to declare Biden “incapable of executing the duties of his office” and begin the process of removing him from office.
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