The Boston Globe, July 2024
Joselyn Rivera’s Sunday afternoon wasproceeding normally until the 23-year-old waitress from Chelsea got out of the shower, and saw a text from her best friend, who had just moved to Texas. Biden was ending his re-election campaign and dropping out of the presidential race. “It was a big shock for sure, but it was [also] kind of something you saw coming just because after the debate, everybody had such negative reactions,” Rivera said, adding she had still intended to vote for him in November.
As the news of Biden’s decision burned up text chains and rocketed across social media, the announcement drew a mix of reactions and emotions from New England residents: Some were shocked and saddened for Biden, while many expressed relief. For other voters, the news left their nerves jangling, the implications of the November election so deeply uncertain. And while Massachusetts is a reliable Democratic stronghold, voters shared a range of opinions on Biden’s decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement atop the party’s presidential ticket, an indication that voters have not yet made up their mind on whether Harris is the best successor as the Democratic nominee.
