VOA新闻杂志2024--Democrats Back Harris as Biden Leaves Presidential Race

Democrats¹ Back Harris as Biden Leaves Presidential Race

Democratic Party lawmakers, some governors, and financial donors² are supporting U.S. Vice³ President Kamala Harris to be the party's presidential nominee⁴.

The move came shortly after President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he would not seek the presidency⁵ again. Biden made the surprise announcement on the social media website X. He also endorsed⁷, or threw his support to, Harris.

Harris, who is 59 years old, quickly announced that she would seek the nomination⁸. She said, "I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party - and unite our nation - to defeat Donald Trump⁹."

Last week, former President Donald Trump accepted the nomination of the Republican Party in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He chose Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential nominee.

Biden's decision

Biden's decision to leave the 2024 race followed rising calls from Democrats urging him to "pass the torch" to a new generation.

In his June 27 debate against Trump, the 81-year-old president often appeared to be unable to complete his thoughts. He also failed to press his case against the 78-year-old Trump or defend his work in The White House. Despite concerns from Democrats about his debate performance and decreasing electoral support, Biden said he would stay in the race.

But on Sunday, he said in a statement, "I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely¹⁰ on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term." Biden's term ends in six months in January. Biden added that he plans to address the nation about his decision later this week.

In a statement, Harris spoke¹¹ about Biden's withdrawal¹². She said, Biden "is doing what he has done throughout this life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else."

The decision came just weeks before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19. That is the event where the Democratic Party officially decides on its nominee. Before Biden's withdrawal, the party was considering a virtual vote for delegates before the convention.

Harris' many firsts

Before becoming vice president, Harris served as Attorney General, a top law enforcement position, in the state of California. In 2017, she was elected to the U.S. Senate. Biden chose her in 2020 as a running mate after her own presidential campaign failed to gain enough support.

If Harris is nominated by the Democratic Party to replace Biden, she would be the first Black woman and South Asian major party presidential nominee in the 248-year history of the United States.

Harris's public approval rating has largely followed the president's approval numbers. Some opinion studies say Harris has a little more support than Biden when compared to Trump.

As vice president, one of her early assignments was to deal with the causes of migration¹³ in the country's southern border with Mexico. Harris also oversaw¹⁴ the administration's efforts on voting rights and election reforms. With a divided Congress, however, Harris was not able to achieve results.

Since the U.S. Supreme¹⁵ Court overturned federal protections for abortion¹⁶ rights in June 2022, Harris has been the leading voice to push for greater access.

To mark the second anniversary of the court decision, Harris told supporters in Maryland, "This is a fight for freedom: the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not having her government tell her what to do."

Words in This Story

endorse⁶ -v. to publicly give support to a political candidate

torch -n. a fire or electric device that is used to light the way

stand down -v. (phrasal) to not take part in something because of a request to do so

virtual -adj. meeting by video conference call rather than physically¹⁷ in a central place

achieve -v. to be able to do something; to reach a goal

access -n. the ability to get something

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

7 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

13 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

14 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

16 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

17 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。