Image source, Reuters

An “overwhelming majority” of the Democratic Party’s 57 state party leaders have voted to back Kamala Harris to replace Joe Biden as the nominee, according to the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC).

“I am proud that state party chairs, vice chairs and executive directors across the country are overwhelmingly uniting behind Vice President Kamala Harris,” the organisation’s chair Ken Martin says in a statement on X.

“These state party leaders are on the front lines of winning elections at every level and know that the stakes of this election could not be higher,” he adds, describing Harris as the most qualified person to “prosecute the case against Donald Trump”.

The ASDC is tasked with representing state-level Democratic parties and affiliates within the Democratic National Committee - the governing organisation of the party which oversees its presidential nomination process.

Suranjana Tewari
Asia business reporter

Financial markets appear to be taking Joe Biden's announcement in their stride.

Investors seemed well-prepared for the news that he was dropping out of the presidential race and even endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination. But it's not immediately clear how Harris' policies might affect business and the economy.

Markets have been volatile for the last week or so with all the uncertainty and some investors have focused on the so-called Trump-trade, which presumes the former president's policies will lead to more trade barriers, higher inflation and a lifting of corporate profits.

Investors are also looking out for signals on China policy - Trump has suggested he would impose tariffs of 60% or higher on all Chinese goods, and his choice of JD Vance as his running mate is fresh evidence of what would be a tough US stance on China.

It's been around eight hours since Joe Biden announced to the world that he'd no longer be running for a second term as president of the US.

If you're just joining us, or need a bit of a recap, here's what's been happening since then:

• Vice-President Kamala Harris was endorsed by Joe Biden about half an hour after he made the announcement - and she's already started sending out fundraising emails
• ActBlue, which funnels public donations to Democratic candidates, says grassroots supporters have now raised $46.7m since Harris' campaign launch - the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle
• Big name Democrats are endorsing Kamala Harris for president, including California Governor Gavin Newsom - who had been tipped as a possible Biden replacement in the last few weeks

• Biden's exit means Republican nominee Donald Trump is now the oldest nominee in presidential history at the age of 78 - he's called for the next presidential nominee debate, scheduled for September, to air on Fox instead of ABC
• Some of Trump's fiercest supporters, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Greg Abbott, have said their man can easily defeat Harris at the election in November

Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest lines and analysis.

ActBlue, the website that funnels public donations to Democratic candidates, has said that it's seen a surge in donations ever since Biden's announcement to drop out of the race.

"Small-dollar donors raise over $27.5 million [£21.3m] on ActBlue in the first 5 hours of Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign," the organisation posted on X., external

"Grassroots supporters are energized and excited to support her as the Democratic nominee."

Image source, Getty Images

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer will not challenge Kamala Harris for the party's nomination, according to US media reports, citing a source with knowledge of her plans.

Whitmer has been considered a top contender to replace Biden, but told AP News at her book launch earlier this month that she would not run for president even if Biden dropped out.

According to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, Whitmer joined a Harris campaign call earlier today in an effort to boost state staff for her campaign.

Leading Democrats have swiftly begun supporting Kamala Harris as the pick to replace President Joe Biden as the 2024 presidential nominee. Here's what some are saying:

• Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren says Harris is "ready to step up" and asks "who better than a former prosecutor” to take on a "convicted felon" like Trump?
• Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg - who ran for President in 2020 and was considered a potential replacement for Biden himself - praises Harris, saying she's the person to "take up the torch [and] defeat Donald Trump"
• Harris also earns the endorsement of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, who ran against Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and says the current vice-president will "bring us together to win"

• Governor of North Carolina Roy Cooper - whose name has been thrown around as a potential VP pick for Harris, if she becomes the Democratic candidate - says Harris "has what it takes"
• Meanwhile, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, often called AOC, echoes this - writing on X that Harris "will be the next president of the United States"
• Earlier, California Governor Gavin Newsom - another person previously touted as a potential replacement for Biden - threw his support behind Harris too, describing her as "tough, fearless, tenacious"

Image source, Getty Images

Courtney Subramanian
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Biden's senior White House and campaign staff had spent the past week insisting the president planned to stay in the 2024 race, despite an onslaught of calls within the Democratic Party for him to step aside.

As recently as Saturday, the president's aides were putting together a campaign schedule for him to pick up upon his return to the White House next week. He had been recovering from Covid at his beach house on the eastern shores of Delaware, insisting he was still running but infuriated as a co-ordinated effort to pressure him to exit by some Democrats began to spill into public view.

By Sunday morning, the president had changed his mind.

He separately called his chief-of-staff Jeff Zients, his campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon and Vice-President Kamala Harris to inform them of his decision to drop out, sources familiar with how the events of Sunday unfolded tell me.

• Read more on this here

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent

So much has been made about the ages of Joe Biden and Donald Trump and how it's off putting for voters.

That focus was much more on 81-year old Biden whose gaffes, stumbles and mistakes were pointed out - especially in the weeks since the presidential debate.

Donald Trump, 78, will now own the unwanted title of 'oldest nominee in presidential history' and inherits the age issue from Biden as he withdraws from the race for the White House.

Presumably that's exactly what the Democratic Party will want...

Kamala Harris, endorsed by Joe Biden to be a new Democratic presidential nominee only a few hours ago, has already started sending out fundraising emails.

"I am running to be president of the United States," one such messages says.

"I am honoured to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination."

Harris says she needs Americans in the election "fight", asking them to donate anything starting from $20 (£15) to $500 (£387), or "other" amounts.

Image source, Reuters

Can Trump beat Harris? Some Republicans believe sopublished at 01:37 British Summer Time 22 July

01:37 BST 22 July

Katty Kay
US special correspondent

As Democrats scramble to find a new nominee, Team Trump is also scrambling to figure out what this all means for them.

Recent reporting from Tim Alberta in The Atlantic, external shows the degree to which the Trump campaign was counting on running against Joe Biden.

So what would the Republican campaign make of running against Vice-President Kamala Harris, if she is the new Democratic candidate?

One person from Trump world texted me to say they feel the former president could beat Harris - if she's the nominee - more easily than Biden. This person described the vice-president as "dangerously liberal".

Donald Trump has published a series of social media posts since the news broke on Sunday of Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race for the White House.

The first few, which we reported on earlier, saw Trump rejoice in Joe Biden's announcement. "Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for president, and is certainly not fit to serve - and never was!" the former president wrote.

In his latest, Trump says the debate he and Biden were due to take part in come September should be moved from ABC News to Fox.

"Now that Joe has, not surprisingly, has quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxNews, rather than very biased ABC," he posted on his Truth Social platform.

This would've been the pair's second debate of the 2024 election campaign. It was Biden's performance at the first that kickstarted concerns about his ability to be re-elected.

The BBC's been speaking to voters in Grand Rapids, Michigan - a swing state which could vote either Republican or Democrat in November's election.

One says she was hoping the president would stand aside, while another says it's just a good time for someone else to step in.

Here's a look at how some people have been reacting to the news of Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race:

California Governor Gavin Newsom - who has himself been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate to replace Joe Biden in recent weeks - has now endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

In a statement, he says:

We're just hearing the first reaction from Jill Biden, the first lady and Joe Biden's wife.

Jill has been "supportive of whatever road he chose", her communications director tells the BBC.

"Down to the last hours of the decision only he could make, she was supportive of whatever road he chose," Elizabeth Alexander says.

"She’s his biggest believer, champion, and always on his side, in that trusted way only a spouse of almost 50 years can be."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Getty Images

I've just been speaking to a small handful of Gaza war protesters outside the White House - where at least a few appear every afternoon, without fail. They're a familiar sight here.

One of them, Carrie Muniak - an American who recently moved back to the US from Liverpool - tells me they hope "everything changes" after Biden's announcement.

While she voted for Biden in the last election, she says her enthusiasm has waned, particularly after his continued support for Israel during the fighting in Gaza.

She's excited about the prospect of a potential Harris candidacy, noting that "there are bits of information about her being more pro-Palestine" than Biden: "While that's not a very high standard, it better be true. She [Harris] better be saying it with her full chest, because we need to hear that."

In the past, Harris has vowed that the US must "address" the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and said "far too many" civilians have been killed during Israeli operations there.

Gaza war protesters in DC have been encouraged by her remarks, Muniak tells me, but they hope that as a candidate Harris will "show us the difference". She adds:

All this comes as Netanyahu prepares to visit USpublished at 00:01 British Summer Time 22 July

00:01 BST 22 July

Barbara Plett Usher
News correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit Washington this week, at a chaotic time for the Democrats.

That adds an element of uncertainty to an atmosphere already strained over his conduct of the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's supposed to meet President Joe Biden and address a joint session of Congress. The White House has been pressing him to cut a ceasefire deal with Hamas that would see the release of hostages, but Netanyahu has carried on with military pressure and added conditions to the agreement.

Analysts had said he was feeling emboldened by Biden’s weakened presidency.

But the Democrats are invested in a Gaza ceasefire. They don't want the war to spread, they're under pressure from voters, and they see it as a key step to ending the conflict. They’ll continue to pursue it regardless of Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race.

And if Kamala Harris becomes the nominee, she could be tougher on Israel.

She might "more closely align with the sentiments of younger elements of the Democratic Party," says Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defence for the Middle East. "A stance more likely to include restrictions on weapons, on munitions from the United States for use in Gaza."

Image source, Getty Images

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he's proud to have worked for Joe Biden for the past 22 years.

"It has been - and remains - the honor of my life," he writes in a post on X.

"He has restored US leadership around the world and delivered historic accomplishments as president.

"I look forward to building on that record with him over the next six months."

Courtney Subramanian
Reporting from Washington DC

Following Kamala Harris' announcement that she'll "earn and win" the Democratic nomination for president, the vice-president has been working the phone to shore up support.

She's making calls to key Democratic officials, lawmakers and governors, a source familiar with the situation tells the BBC - on the condition of anonymity.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from Delaware

Secret Service posted outside Joe Biden’s beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - where the president has spent the last few days recovering from Covid - are moving along anyone who stops here.

The home is right behind Gordon’s Pond State Park, where many people spending the day on the beach have been reacting to the news coming from just a few hundred feet away.

Everyone I have spoken with so far believes Biden's decision to drop out of the race needed to happen, given his age and the state of the contest.

Becca Hall, 29, says it looked like president Biden took a steep decline, so he deserves to retire. She is apprehensive about whether the Democratic Party can unite around one person to be their nominee against Donanld Trump.

Two others I spoke with, Kelly Thompson and Laurie Czajkowski, believe there could be someone better than Vice-President Kamala Harris - endorsed by Biden for president this afternoon - to lead the party.

I also spoke with supporters of Donald Trump’s here who say it’s surreal what’s happening - but that their man will still win.

We're continuing to get reaction to Biden's decision to exit the presidential race, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praising Biden as a "great man" who is "guided by his love for his country".

In a statement on X, he writes: "As President, he is a partner to Canadians - and a true friend.

"To President Biden and the First Lady: thank you."