Michigan voters react to Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race

Voters in Michigan are reacting to President Biden’s decision to end his campaign for a second term. Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his nominee for next month’s Democratic National Convention.

WKAR spoke to Democrats in the Central Michigan region to ask them if Biden’s decision will affect how they vote.

Diana Rivera, a 70-year-old from Okemos, says Biden ultimately made the right choice.

“It’s bittersweet. I really think it all came at him in such a short period of time,” she said. “His physical weakness was noticeably declining, and then he got COVID, and Democrats were really calling for his resignation.”

Rivera says that by nominating Harris, Biden is making room for the new generation of the Democratic Party.

The president’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race is drawing support from progressives in central Michigan as the Democratic Party searches for a replacement candidate just 15 weeks before Election Day.

Jesse Estrada White is a 21-year-old college student living in East Lansing who says he has wanted Biden to drop out of the race for months.

“He just doesn’t have the progressive agenda that young people want and that the working class needs,” Estrada-White said. “I think he definitely made the right decision in getting out and I think it allows us to advance a more progressive agenda, a more hopeful vision for the future in 2024 and beyond.”

Estrada White says if Harris wants his vote, her program must focus on ordinary working-class people.

“I always wanted to vote against the Republican Party. Biden’s exit definitely made that easier for me,” says Estrada White. “But I don’t know how this vote will turn out. I haven’t decided yet because the Democratic Party is still actively supporting the genocide in Palestine.”

Independent voters in Michigan are considering their options after President Biden decided to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

Juan Martinez of Okemos was considered an independent until former President Donald Trump ran for office in 2016, when he voted Democratic. Martinez says Biden should not have dropped out.

“I think the party owes it to itself and to the people to develop a process for how this should work,” he said. “I don’t want to see what just happened repeated again.”

Biden’s decision to drop out is exciting some voters in Michigan. Sony Hernandez, a 52-year-old educator, says Biden made the right decision and she’s ready for Harris in 2024.

“He showed his true patriotism and love for this country by understanding and recognizing that the poll numbers were not where they should be,” Hernandez added.

Michigan is a swing state that is likely to determine the outcome of the presidential election in November. In 2020, Biden won the presidential election in this state by less than 200,000 votes.