Now that President Joe Biden is out of the race, who might replace him atop the Democratic ticket? 

Here is a look at several names who have been the subjects of speculation in recent weeks.

Vice President Kamala Harris

Harris appears to be the heavy favorite to take the torch from Biden, who immediately endorsed her after suspending his campaign. Former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did the same, as did a slew of other top Democrats.

Harris said in a statement Sunday she intends “to earn and win this nomination.”

Harris can campaign on the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration — infrastructure, climate investments and jobs among them — but the 59-year-old would not face the questions about her age and mental acuity that plagued Biden. She also is perhaps the Democrats’ best option to attack Trump and Republicans on arugably their most vulnerable issue — abortion.

Harris also can make a powerful argument that no other Democrat can: She was on the ticket Democrats voted for in the primaries.

With 107 days until Election Day, Harris makes the most sense logistically as well. She’d have easier access to the Biden-Harris campaign’s cash than any other candidate, and there is already a campaign infrastructure in place to support her. (Biden's campaign already filed a notice with the FEC to rebrand its principal campaign committee as "Harris for President" on Sunday.)

But there are negatives, too, with Harris. Her 2020 presidential campaign floundered, as she struggled to raise money and stick to a message. And Republicans are already tying her to some of the same criticisms they had of Biden, namely immigration and inflation.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll last week found that about six in 10 Democrats think Harris would do a good job as president. (Two in 10 said they did not know enough to say.)

Harris, who is Black and Indian, would be the first female and Asian American president if elected.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

The California governor and former San Francisco mayor has been one of Biden’s top surrogates and stood behind the president as others called for him to bow out. 

Newsom, 56, said earlier this month he would not challenge Harris if she sought the nomination. There has been much speculation about Newsom running for the White House in 2028, and he made some moves in recent months — including debating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Fox News — that appeared aimed at raising his national profile.

Newsom is known for being a charismatic speaker and a strong campaigner. But as a presidential candidate, he would immediately be on the defensive about California’s crime rates, homelessness and budget shortfall. In 2021, he survived a recall election.

While Newsom is one of the country’s better-known governors, 51% of voters in the AP-NORC survey did not know enough about him to say whether they believe he would make a good president. That sort of unfamiliarity would be an obstacle for Newsom and many others on this list: Do they have enough time to introduce themselves to the country and win over enough support? 

It doesn't appear likely that Newsom will mount a challenge himself; on Sunday night, the California governor threw his support behind Harris in a post on social media.

"Tough. Fearless. Tenacious. With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump's dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris," he wrote.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Like Newsom, Whitmer already had been the subject of 2028 speculation and threw her support behind Biden as pressure mounted on him following last month’s debate.

Among her accomplishments as governor, the 52-year-old has pointed to tax cuts for the retired and working families and investments in infrastructure and auto jobs. Republicans, however, have blamed her policies, including repealing a law that gave workers the freedom to choose whether to join a labor union, for the state’s population decline.

Whitmer already has a well-documented rivalry with former President Donald Trump, the man she’d be facing if she were the Democratic nominee. After 14 people were charged in 2020 — eight were later convicted — of plotting to kidnap Whitmer and overthrow the state government, Trump responded by saying she had done “a terrible job” as governor and should have thanked him for the FBI foiling the plot. Whitmer blamed Trump’s rhetoric over her COVID-19 policies for fueling the planned kidnapping and assailed him for blaming the victim.

Bloomberg News reported Sunday afternoon Whitmer does not intend to challenge Harris for the nomination.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

A former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg burst onto the national scene when he ran for president in 2020, parlaying that exposure into a role in Biden’s Cabinet.

At 42, Buttigieg is the youngest Democrat in the conversation to replace Biden. In his 2020 campaign, he proved to have a firm grasp on domestic and foreign issues for a small-town mayor. Since Biden has brought him into the fold, Buttigieg has not been afraid to appear on conservative media to defend the president and his policies.

He has managed several crises as transportation secretary, including Southwest Airlines’ scheduling issues in 2022, last year’s East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March. 

But Buttigieg receiving the nomination would likely be viewed as him leapfrogging Harris, which could open the party up to criticism. 

Buttigieg, like Newsom, also backed the vice president on Sunday, saying in a post on his personal social media account that he "will do all that I can" to help Harris get elected.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker

Pritzker has been one of Biden’s staunchest defenders and one of Trump’s loudest critics.

For example, he issued a statement after Trump’s Republican National Convention speech saying, “Donald Trump is a convicted felon, liable for sexual assault, and a congenital liar. He is a man who remains wholly unfit for the office of the presidency, both in temperament and character.” Voters could expect more of the same if the 59-year-old governor were the Democratic nominee.

The richest elected politician in the United States, Pritzker, believed to be worth around $3.5 billion, could make up for lost time by contributing sizably to his own campaign. (He reportedly spent more than $300 million of his own money on his two gubernatorial runs.)

Under Pritzker, Illinois Democrats have scored several big victories, including protecting out-of-state patients who come to the state for abortions, banning semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines, legalizing recreational marijuana, and denying state funds to libraries and schools that ban books.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro

It’s no mystery why Shapiro would be appealing as a Democratic nominee. He enjoys a high approval rating — 64%, according to Muhlenberg College — in a key battleground state.

The 51-year-old, first-term governor is also a moderate Democrat who stresses bipartisanship, which could help win over centrist voters.

In his year and a half as governor, perhaps Shapiro’s most noteworthy accomplishment was getting a collapsed overpass on Interstate 95 rebuilt in less than two weeks. 

If Harris gets the nomination, it would not be surprising if Shapiro is on her shortlist to be her running mate.

On Sunday, multiple reports suggested that West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party earlier this year to become an independent, may throw his hat into the ring and re-register with the party to challenge for the nomination.

The news was first reported by CBS News and later confirmed by other outlets, including ABC News, CNN and POLITICO.

Manchin, a moderate Democrat and the only member of the party to hold statewide office in the Mountain State, announced late last year that he was not going to run for reelection to the U.S. Senate in November. His seat, in a state won by Trump by nearly 39 points in 2020, is seen as a likely flip for Republicans in the fall.

During Biden's administration, he was a crucial swing vote in a narrowly divided Senate, giving him outsize power over the president's agenda, much to the frustration of other Democrats.

Earlier Sunday, during multiple talk show appearances, Manchin urged Biden to step aside "pass the torch" to a new generation of Democratic leaders.

"I’m hoping for that, because I think it will leave him with a tremendous legacy as one of the greatest leaders that we’ve had," he said on CNN's "State of the Union" earlier Sunday. "I say this, and I came to the decision with a heavy heart, that I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation."

Manchin turns 77 in August. Trump turned 78 in June, and Biden is 81.

When asked on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday if he might want to be part of a potential vice presidential ticket, Manchin responded, "No, forget about me."

"You're not going to run?" asked moderator Margaret Brennan.

"No. This is a new generation ... we've got a lot of deep people on the bench to serve," he replied.

Others being mentioned

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, 46, who has been elected twice in a red state.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, 67, who has been elected twice in a swing state that has voted for Republicans in the past three presidential elections. He also could be in the mix for Harris’ running mate.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, 64, who ran against Biden in 2020 before endorsing him.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, 45, will endorse Harris on Monday, NOTUS reported.

Former first lady Michelle Obama, 60, although she has repeatedly said she has no interest in running for president.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, 49, one of the nation’s most popular governors.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, 54, who has won two elections in two years in Georgia, a battleground state.