WASHINGTON — Maryland Democrats on Sunday quickly praised President Joe Biden’s sudden decision to withdraw from the presidential race just weeks before the Democratic National Convention, and some immediately backed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s new standard-bearer.

“Maryland has had a stalwart ally and tireless friend in President Biden,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said in a statement. He cited Biden’s aid after the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

“Our state and country are back on track with the help of this administration, and we know that President Biden will continue to have Maryland’s back as he focuses solely on fulfilling his duties as president for the rest of his term,” Moore said.

Axios reported, citing sources, that Moore was expected to endorse Harris on Monday.

Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer called Biden’s move “one of the greatest acts of patriotism in American history.”

“Joe Biden, my friend of nearly 55 years, has already proven himself among the pantheon of our best Presidents, and this selfless decision further reaffirms his position as a great American leader, willing to put the needs of our nation above his own,” Hoyer said in a statement. “His service in the United States Senate, as Vice President of the United States, and impressive legislative victories as our President will impact generations of Americans and people around the world.”

The sentiment was shared by retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, who noted in a statement, “Joe Biden has earned the right to determine his own future and I respect his decision. I thank him for his incredible service with all my heart.

“Donald Trump is unfit to hold elected office,” the senator continued. “Democrats, along with Independents and Republicans, now must be united and focus our attention on preserving our nation, our Constitution and our way of life under the rule of law.”

Biden announced his withdrawal early Sunday afternoon and endorsed his vice president for the top of the Democratic ticket.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said in a statement: “President Biden has always put our country first, and in making this decision, he has once again done what he thinks is best for the future of our democracy.”

Prince George’s County (Maryland) Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who is running for Cardin’s seat against former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, stated, “President Biden knows more than anyone the profound stakes of this election. He knows the grave threat to our freedoms and to the future of our country that Donald Trump and a Republican Senate majority pose.

“That’s why it is paramount that Democrats come together quickly and unite behind a qualified leader. Kamala Harris is that leader,” Alsobrooks added. “She will provide a clear and stark contrast to the regressive vision Donald Trump has for this country. She will make this race about the future and the kind of country our children deserve to inherit. Each and every one of us deserves that kind of leader.”

Top Maryland GOP officials, not surprisingly, had a different take.

“President Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race saves the American people, and Marylanders, from the possibility of suffering under another four years of his failed ‘leadership,’” Maryland Republican Party chair Nicole Beus Harris said in a statement.

“In their coverup of Joe Biden’s incompetence, the Democrat Party has failed America, and they need to be held accountable,” she said. “Amid Democrat division and weakness, the Republican Party remains united behind returning President Trump to the White House and Making America Great Again!”

Her husband, Rep. Andy Harris, the only Republican in the Maryland congressional delegation, tweeted: “Reminder: Kamala Harris is the failed ‘Border Czar’ of this administration. We are witnessing an invasion at the Southern Border because of her failed leadership.”

The Democratic Party has been scrambling to respond to public concerns over the president’s fitness since a poor debate performance on CNN on June 27.

While Democratic leaders stood by the president in the immediate aftermath of the debate, prominent progressives more recently urged Biden to reconsider his chances.

The Associated Press reported last week that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., met with Biden to speak frankly about his poor polling numbers. Former President Barack Obama expressed worries about the fall campaign to his political allies, the AP also reported.

Meanwhile, a chorus of Democrats called for Biden to pull out, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, California Rep. Adam Schiff and Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, as well as high-profile donors, like actor George Clooney.

“Joe Biden is one of the handful of truly great presidents in American history and a patriot beyond measure,” Raskin wrote on X on Sunday. “We Democrats will be unified and focused behind our next President, Kamala Harris, to keep their great success going and to defeat the autocrats, theocrats and plutocrats.”

Maryland Democratic Rep. Kweisi Mfume tweeted that Biden’s tenure “will be revered forever.”

“At this moment, we all would be better off if we allow him to have the dignity that he deserves and has earned in this moment,” the congressman noted. “He has been and remains a great President who through the simple eloquence of his example has led our nation and the world through tough and difficult times.”

Another Democrat, Maryland Rep. David Trone, wrote on X on Sunday: “I commend President Biden’s decision to allow a new generation of leaders to take this country to new heights — leaders who will continue his legacy of unity and strength, of focusing on what brings us together, not what tears us apart.”

Democratic delegates will need to formally pick the new nominee at their party convention Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.

Harris must select a running mate in short order, as state-specific deadlines loom in the coming weeks to be added to the November ballot.

New data shows that Harris is popular with the liberal base. In a poll out this week from The Economist and YouGov, 79% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters indicated that they would vote for Harris if she were on the ballot.

Yet, that same poll shows Trump with a strong lead over Harris, with support from 44% of those surveyed, compared to Harris’ 39% in a contest where Biden is not on the ticket.

Trump accepted his nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday. At a rally in Michigan on Saturday — before Biden’s announcement — Trump said he calls the vice president “laughing Kamala.”

“You ever watch her laugh? She’s crazy,” Trump said.

While Biden was an obvious target for conservative ire at the convention, Harris did not escape the proceedings unscathed. The theme Tuesday was “Make America Safe Once Again,” and a litany of speakers lambasted Harris’ performance as “border czar” for the Biden White House.

Anne Fundner, whom the GOP featured as an “everyday American,” addressed the convention that night and blamed the Biden-Harris border policy for her teen son’s accidental and fatal fentanyl overdose in California in 2022.

“I hold Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, the border czar — what a joke — and Gavin Newsom and every Democrat who supports open borders responsible for the death of my son,” Fundner said.

The Biden-Harris campaign suspended campaign activities last week following a failed assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Biden subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and traveled to his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home to isolate.

The president is expected to address the nation later this week.

Capital News Service reporters Joey Barke, Emily R. Condon, Daniel Stein, Ava Thompson and Katharine Wilson contributed to this story.