HOUSTON — President Joe Biden recently announced that he would not seek reelection and instead endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee for president in the upcoming election.
With the election just a few months away, both parties are hard at work.
Biden's move was historic and caught many by surprise, especially because of his comments in the days preceding the announcement.
It also mobilized many people in the Black community to raise more money.
"Thankful he put country over self," Rep. Jolanda Jones said.
Jones said that once Biden dropped out, their work began.
"We are organizing around the country," she said.
Last night, elected officials and the organization "Win With Black Women" got together on a call to mobilize. KHOU 11 News was told more than 40,000 women joined the call and they raised about $1.5 million to donate to the Harris campaign in just a few hours.
"I can tell you Black people are excited and we are excited around the country," Jones said.
On Monday, Black men gathered for their own meeting to raise money for Harris' campaign.
They're not the only ones getting to work.
On the Republican side, University of Houston Political Science professor Brandon Rottinghaus said they're busy, too.
"I think having Joe Biden off the top of the ticket is negative for the Republicans. They had already trained their efforts on Joe Biden -- he was too old," he said.
Now, the Republicans will work to change their message if the Democrats nominate Harris.
"She is going to be a brand-new candidate -- different constituency -- what they message and say about her," Rottinghaus said.
RELATED: Democrats plan to push ahead with virtual roll call ahead of their convention, with Harris favored
All eyes are on the Democratic National Committee as they move forward with the process to determine who they'll nominate. If the party unifies around Harris and proceeds with current plans for a pre-convention roll call, Harris could be formally nominated before Aug. 7.