'The right move but is it too late?' Democratic voters react

Pressure had been building on US President Biden for weeks, but still his Sunday afternoon announcement that he was ending his re-election campaign came as a shock.

The conversation moved quickly, however, on to what happens next - and especially who will replace him as the Democratic Party's candidate to face Donald Trump.

We asked Democratic voters - and one Republican still not convinced he can back Trump - what they made of Mr Biden's historic decision as well as his endorsement of Kamala Harris, his current vice-president.

We start with a voter who is excited about the news.

Anna was going to vote Democratic whoever the nominee was, but says she excited to back Kamala Harris.

I was hoping Joe Biden would do this and was kind of expecting it today. I think he did what was right for the country and it was a selfless act.

I wanted to see a younger candidate all along. I think Joe Biden has been a wonderful candidate, but he’s been declining and asking him to serve another four years was asking a lot.

Endorsing Harris was the right move and moves the party toward being united.

I think Kamala will be a great candidate, I'm excited to see her debate, and I think this brings energy back to the Democratic Party.

Who she picks as her vice-presidential candidate needs to get people excited about this campaign.

I would love to see two women on the ticket but that would be hard, just because that's the way it is. Realistically there needs to be a man from a swing state.

Anyone who is saying this isn’t a democratic process is wrong. People who voted for Joe Biden voted for Kamala Harris; picking someone else at this point would be less democratic.

Matthew says it's sad to see Biden drop out but he thinks it gives Democrats a better shot in November's election.

My hesitancy about replacing Biden still remains, but its been lessened by the outpouring of support for Harris as the nominee.

I think that there's still a risk that a challenge to her [before or at the convention] could divide the Democratic Party.

There’s not ample time to build support like in a typical campaign, so right now the only person who can take the existing support and run with it is Vice-President Harris.

I'm not certain who she’ll pick as a running mate, but I'm sure she’ll pick a straight white man from a swing state or district.

Maybe [Pennsylvania] Governor [Josh] Shapiro, [Arizona Senator Mark] Kelly, or [Illinois Governor JB] Pritzker.

Those are some good contenders. I just don’t see another woman being added to the ticket at this time.

Silvia is hopeful that with Harris atop the ticket reproductive freedoms will be protected from a second Trump term.

In the beginning I was shocked and then I started thinking, what’s going to happen now, what’s the process, how do we shift to another candidate.

When [Biden] endorsed Vice-President Harris, I immediately was thinking who can be her running mate in order for this to not be focused on her being a woman.

I was thinking we need to have a strong vice president pick from the Midwest.

I did like Governor Gretchen Whitmer as a vice-presidential pick, but I think two women will too much for people ... I really like what she’s doing, but I’m leaning towards Governor Shapiro.

He’s right there and from what I’ve seen he’s really popular in the Midwest and we really need that in November.

We just need strong candidates because for me now, it’s not about who is running but who can win. Women's reproductive rights are the number one priority for me, and I feel better about that issue because Vice-President Harris is atop the ticket.

This is a chance that we can’t lose, we really need to come together as a party and support who is running against Donald Trump, we don’t need him again.

Jim, a life-long Republican, was struggling to support Trump again after the former president's criminal conviction. How will Biden's decision influence his vote?

When I first heard [Biden was stepping down] I thought this is long overdue.

But the fact that Biden won’t step down as president altogether means this decision isn’t looking out for the interests of the country, this is looking out for who can win the election.

He should have passed the baton to whoever and let the party pick.

I will never vote for Kamala Harris, I don’t think she’s qualified. There’s no way, I don’t think she’s capable.

I feel like Trump is trending really strongly and I think he’s going to win the election with a very strong margin, electorally and probably even popular vote too. The assassination attempt changed things a lot.

He just demonstrated a key quality of someone who can be courageous, he demonstrated that quality when he put his fist in the air.

I’ve gravitating toward Trump now. I really have a hard time saying I’d vote for a Democrat.

Shana was eating dinner when we called and broke the news about Biden dropping out. She wants an open convention to pick his replacement.

This actually gives me a more positive feeling because I feel like a different candidate is going to be more viable against Trump.

This is a positive thing, it’s late in the race, but it’s positive.

I'm going to put my support behind whoever they put forward.

This is a time for the Democratic Party to unite. Whoever the vice-presidential and presidential candidates are, we back them as soon as we can and provide them as much support as possible.

An open convention would be best way to pick who the candidates are because I'm not sure Kamala Harris is going to be as strong as a presidential candidate.

I think there are probably people who would be stronger than her to come forward.

Isaiah is happy to see change at the top the Democratic ticket - but thinks it may have come too late to beat Trump.

I feel good about it and hopefully the party coalesces around Harris in a relatively quick manner, and we go on to face the election.

This is a decision that should have been made a year ago if not longer. That was pretty much my hesitation with [pushing Biden out], in that it just feels a little bit too late in the process.

Logistically I don’t think we can handle a contested primary. Even though [Harris] is not my number-one-preferred-candidate I think she's fine.

I'd be surprised if any candidate won against Trump, whether it be Biden, Harris or "insert Democrat here". But I think she gives us a slightly better chance because she’s an objectively better candidate.

I think it’s a good decision, I'm glad he stepped down but again it just feels like poor planning on the Democratic Party's part.

They're always running around like a chicken with their head cut off, it doesn’t scream party cohesion, but I think it's the best path forward.

This voter is excited about the prospective of a Harris presidency and wants to see her state's governor on the ticket too.

I was shocked, but I also knew it was going to happen based on how many senators and Congress people were encouraging him to drop out.

It’s exciting and then it was really special to see the way people were reacting to the news and really honouring his decision and I felt relief that I no longer needed to feel angry at Joe Biden for staying in the race.

I am pretty enthusiastic about Kamala Harris, it seems there is a lot of support in the party for her, and it is nice to see the party come together over a decision when we don’t have a lot of time to waste.

Nobody knows who is our best chance to win against Trump, though of course I'm worried Kamala Harris can’t beat Trump, I’d be equally as worried about any other candidate because we just don’t know.

Because I'm from Pennsylvania, I think Josh Shapiro is an exciting option to be her vice-president.

He’s a great leader and has shown an openness to progressive policies.