Meet the Democrats seen as potential contenders for the new open 2024 race

By Deepa Shivaram and Lexie Schapitl, NPR

President Biden announced Sunday that he will not continue his 2024 reelection bid, after a flood of Democrats called on him to exit the race amid dismal poll numbers.

The pressure campaign began after Biden's disastrous debate performance at the end of June, with many Democrats calling on Biden to "pass the torch" to a younger candidate.

Biden has thrown his support behind his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the new nominee. But other Democrats have said they want an open process.

The bombshell decision came just 105 days before Election Day, and just weeks before the Democratic National Convention, where a candidate will be formally chosen. Until then, Harris is not guaranteed the job.

Here are some of the other potential names being floated:

Vice President Harris gives remarks at a White House event on conflict-related sexual violence on June 17.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris

Already number two on the ticket, many Democratic leaders have said Harris is the obvious, and only, choice to replace Biden. Harris, 59, has a national profile and name recognition that other contenders wouldn’t have time to build before November.

The real Kamala Harris: What her California years reveal

She’s been a consistently high fundraiser for Biden and the party. She has also been traveling more for the campaign, with events aimed at engaging with voters of color, younger voters and women — especially on issues of reproductive rights, a focal point for the Biden campaign since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling in 2022.

Harris, like Biden, has struggled with low approval ratings. Early on as vice president, she stumbled in her handling of the root causes of migration. But she has built up her foreign policy chops.

“I am honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," Harris said after Biden dropped out. "Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

A former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom, 56, is in his second term as governor — surviving a recall election in 2021. He is known for his progressive policies, including prisoner rehabilitation, public safe drug-use clinics for overdose patients and new legal strategies to promote gun control.

Newsom has long been an adversary to conservatives, debating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year in a primetime debate on Fox News. He has worked to raise his profile with trips around the country, as well as to Israel and China.

There have been some scandals in his political career dating back before his first gubernatorial run in 2008, but he remains a top party leader who has remained loyal to Biden, and helping raise money for the campaign. After the presidential debate in Atlanta, Newsom was in the spin room for the Biden campaign, defending the president.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigns for President Biden in South Haven, Mich., on July 4.Bill Pugliano/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Whitmer, a co-chair of the Biden campaign, gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic with strict lockdown guidelines. Three men were later convicted for supporting a plot to kidnap her because of her COVID policies.

As governor of a critical swing state, Whitmer has championed gun safety legislation, electric car manufacturing and abortion rights. Whitmer, 52, has repeatedly pledged her support for Biden in 2024. Her political memoir, “True Gretch,” was released this month, and may boost her national profile further.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer applauds President Biden during a visit to a United Auto Workers phone bank in Detroit on Feb. 1, 2024.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore

Moore, 45, is the only sitting Black governor, and the third ever to be elected in the United States. He has been described as a “rising star” in the Democratic Party.

Moore recently gained national attention for pardoning 175,000 low-level marijuana convictions in his state. He and Biden shared a close working relationship after Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed earlier this year.

Moore was pressed into action in the aftermath of Biden’s debate, doing a series of interviews to defend the president while on a tour across Wisconsin to try to energize Black voters. And in the weeks before Biden dropped out, he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he was not intending to to seek the DNC nomination.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks about the response to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 29, 2024, in Baltimore.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

Pritzker, 59, has been governor since 2019, and is currently serving his second term. He is a progressive — and a billionaire — who has aggressively attacked Trump over his legal woes.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at an April 12, 2023, event announcing Chicago as the host city for the 2024 Democratic National Convention.Scott Olson/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

NPR's Clayton Kincaide contributed to this report.