ATLANTA — Political leaders all over Georgia are reacting to President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the presidential race.
Shortly after the announcement, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. This comes just over 100 days from the presidential election.
Carolyn Bourdeaux is a former Georgia congressional representative. She's been calling for Biden to step down and saw this coming.
"We saw the debate," Bourdeaux said. "And I think a lot of us saw what we see in a lot of our aging relatives."
Bourdeaux said she sees Biden's step down as putting the country first.
“I don’t know how many Republicans who have called me and said ‘We just cannot bring ourselves to vote for Trump, but we can’t vote for Joe Biden if he appears to be debilitated in this way.’ And I think we have an enormous chance to reset and push forward," Bourdeaux said.
Bourdeaux said she feels Vice President Harris is a strong candidate.
"Kamala has a fantastic record. And I think she has a lot of window to appeal to very moderate voters. That may require leaning, some, on her... prosecutor's background," Bordeaux said.
Josh McKoon is the chair of the Georgia Republican Party. He's calling for Biden to take it a step further. McKoon said someone should look into how long the party has known about the state of Biden's mental and physical health.
"If he's not fit to run for this office, he's certainly not fit to continue to serve in this office," McKoon said.
McKoon said he sees this decision as a Hail Mary -- desperate attempt at power. He also believes that Harris' background may deter voters.
"Vice President Harris has a long, track record as a prosecutor in California -- putting people away for very long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses. And I think that's going to be an issue," McKoon said.
Harris' racial background is already being discussed. If nominated, it'd make Harris the first Black and Asian American to lead a major party ticket. Some even compare this race to the Former President Donald Trump vs. Sen. Hilary Clinton race. State Rep. Dar'Shun Kendrick said Harris' ethnic background shouldn't make a difference in support.
"It has nothing to do with skin color, about gender -- it literally is a choice between democracy and not having democracy," Kendrick said.
Kendrick said she'd support Harris and threw out Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as a potential vice president. Bordeaux agreed and added North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
Harris' candidacy is not official yet. The Democratic National Convention is still about a month away. Kendrick said she'll be there. She wanted voters to know that whoever makes it on the ballot, there will be solidarity within the party.
"I believe that Democrats are going to be united around one person," Kendrick said. "I believe that America is going to see Donald Trump and the Republican Party for what they are. And we're going put forward the best candidate that we have."
If Harris were not to win the nomination, Bourdeaux said she thinks there's still time for another candidate to afford to run.
McKoon said he feels Harris' numbers are no better than Biden's.
Biden said he plans to address the nation this week, but no word on when.