Biden is one of few presidents to end a reelection campaign; Who were the others?
No other president seeking reelection has dropped out so late. President Harry S. Truman, after serving the better part of two terms, pulled out of the 1952 race in late March, after failing to win over a majority of voters at the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary. President Lyndon B. Johnson later dropped out of the 1968 election, amid low approval ratings.
Does that make Harris the new Democrat Nominee? No!
Biden was not formally named the party nominee. At the DNC Convention the following month, during a virtual roll call would be when Biden was expected to be the official nominee.
Harris, who is the only candidate who can directly tap into the Biden war chest under federal campaign finance rules, stands as the party’s favorite to win the nomination.
Democrats are starting with an open convention. An open convention means delegates could cast their ballot for any candidate. The candidate who gets a simple majority wins the nomination. If no candidate gets that simple majority, superdelegates will also vote. Biden can't pass his delegates off to Harris or any other candidate. In that regard, Harris is on her own and has to win the delegates on her own. It's not yet clear if anyone will challenge Harris for the Democratic nomination.
Polls have shown very little difference from Biden. Across recent polls, Harris trails Trump by two percentage points nationally on average, 46 percent to 48 percent. This is an improvement over Biden’s standing in the race: He trailed Trump by three percentage points in the polling average, 47 percent to 44 percent.