Democrat Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan do not plan to challenge Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, according to reports Sunday afternoon.
"Already in this immediate aftermath of President Biden's momentous decision, you see behind-the-scenes Democratic consolidation," CBS News' Robert Costa reported on X. "The real race will be for the vice presidential nomination on the Democratic side."
"There's no one at this moment preparing behind the scenes to challenge Vice President Harris," Costa added.
Sources close to the two governors told Costa that they are "preparing to stand down" after President Joe Biden endorsed Harris to replace him as the party's nominee after he stepped down.
The sources also said they do not believe the governors will challenge Harris at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Costa also reported "there is a lot of anger among President Biden's closest friends" who feel the 81-year-old president was forced to drop out.
"This is a Democratic Party that's at a fragile political moment. They don't feel this was played in the perfect way for an 81-year-old president who has battled so much."
Meanwhile, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told CBS that he wants to have a "truncated process" to pick a nominee, as he is not ready to endorse Harris.
However, he said he doesn't think Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will throw his hat in the ring.
"I don't have any information," he said, adding that as age is "an issue" with Sanders as well, he would not encourage the senator to think about launching yet another presidential campaign.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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