COLUMBUS, Ohio — Now that President Joe Biden has ended his reelection bid, Ohio has until Sept. 1 to certify a new Democratic candidate.
"For Joe Biden to admit it was time to make a change for the good of the country, that's the best thing to ever happen," Northeast Ohio voter Keven Blake said.
RELATED: President Biden ends reelection bid, endorses Harris for the 2024 presidential race
Politicians on both sides of the aisle agree with Blake's sentiment but for different reasons.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, who has one of the most competitive congressional elections this year, thanked the president for his work.
"I thank President Biden for his years of committed service to the country we love — as Senator, as Vice President, and as President."
This comes two days after he became the fourth Democratic senator to ask Biden to drop out so that “our full attention” could be on growing jobs and stopping a federal abortion ban.
RELATED: Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown urges President Joe Biden to exit race
For the past month, Biden has dealt with backlash from his poor debate performance, as well as struggles with donors and colleagues.
Republican Vice Presidential nominee and U.S. Senator JD Vance posted on social media that “Biden has been the worst President” in his lifetime.
"Joe Biden has been the worst President in my lifetime and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way. Over the last four years she co-signed Biden's open border and green scam policies that drove up the cost of housing and groceries. She owns all of these failures, and she lied for nearly four years about Biden's mental capacity--saddling the nation with a president who can't do the job."
Just before Biden dropped out, he posted that the president dropping out would be a sign that he was not "mentally fit" to keep being commander in chief.
"It should be for somebody who is younger — like the vice president," voter Ewing Ivan said.
Biden endorsed his VP Kamala Harris to replace him, and some Statehouse Democrats are now supporting, like state Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland).
"We have an opportunity to support the first black woman to be a major nominee for our party of serious consideration," Brent told me. "This is a time for us to organize and be focused. For the longest time, the Democratic Party has been focused on trying to figure out if somebody's old enough or somebody's a felon enough. Now, we can just focus on how we can work together."
Many Cleveland voters we spoke to are also on board.
"I think Kamala is a fabulous politician," Blake said.
Not everyone does.
"I'm not sure if our next choices are any good, but gotta go with it, right?" voter Ken Kuehls said.
Democratic delegate coordinator state Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) explains that just because she has support doesn’t mean she will automatically get the nomination.
"With Joe Biden dropping out, all delegates are theoretically free agents and can now vote for whomever they think is best," DeMora said.
A virtual roll call was supposed to be held to nominate Biden to Ohio’s ballot the first week of August ahead of the Democratic National Convention. But thanks to a new law passed in May — due to the state's unrelated Biden Ballot Debacle — Democrats have until Sept. 1 to certify another candidate.
Back in May, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said the party would use a virtual roll call, which would have to take place ahead of its Aug. 19 convention in Chicago and before Ohio's Aug. 7 deadline to certify the ballot.
And while there has been chaos inside the democratic party the past month, DeMora said it's the right party to vote for.
"Whoever our nominee might be, whether it's the vice president or if someone else comes out of this process, they're a much better candidate," DeMora said. "They're not felons, they're coherent public servants who are going to serve the people of the United States honorably and legally."
Many other politicians on both sides, like Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, are wishing Biden well for the remainder of his term.
"I have known President Biden since 1995, when I entered the U.S. Senate and served with him on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Fran and I wish President Biden and the First Lady all the best as he serves out the remainder of his term and in the years ahead."
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
