Obama congratulates Biden on formal nomination

Former President Obama congratulated Joe Biden on being formally nominated as the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nominee.

“Congrats, Joe. I’m proud of you,” Obama tweeted Tuesday night.

Congrats, Joe. I’m proud of you. https://t.co/YVyctn5o3N

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 18, 2020

Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president for eight years, officially clinched the nomination on Tuesday after delegates formally cast their votes.

“Thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart,” Biden said at the Democratic Party’s convention Tuesday. “It means the world to me and my family.” 

Obama will speak before a virtual crowd on Wednesday night, the third night of the convention, while Biden will give his acceptance speech on Thursday. 

Obama has praised Biden as a close partner during his time in the White House and officially endorsed him in April. However, he reportedly played a role in helping Biden secure the nomination earlier this year, talking with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Biden’s last primary rival, about leaving the race.

The former vice president appears to be in a strong position in the battle against President Trump as he accepts his party’s nomination, leading by 7.7 points nationally in the RealClearPolitics average, although that is down from his largest lead of 10.2 points, held in late June.

Biden is also ahead by 5 points or more in the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida, and is up by 2 points in Arizona and deadlocked with Trump in North Carolina, according to the polling index.

Surveys have also shown tight contests in historically Republican states like Texas and Georgia and states Trump easily won in 2016 such as Ohio and Iowa.