ROCHESTER, N.Y. — President Joe Biden will not be on your ballot in November. Biden announced he is dropping out of the 2024 Presidential race on Sunday afternoon. He has since endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the role.

Biden says in part, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”

Here is Biden’s full statement, posted to his X account:

News10NBC’s Bret Vetter and Marsha Augustin set out to hear what the community thinks about the withdrawal.

What local law makers have to say

We spoke with State Senator Jeremy Cooney shortly after the announcement was made. Senator Cooney says he was in his backyard with his family when he heard the news, and his phone starting blowing up. He says he’s happy about President Biden’s decision, and although he would have fully supported him through November, Senator Cooney thinks the president made the right decision.

Senator Cooney believe the decision will allow Democrats to get back on track and focus on beating former President Trump at the polls.

“What a historic moment for our country to elect an African American woman, to elect a woman of Indian American heritage — which is obviously deeply personal to me to serve in the highest office of our land,” says Senator Cooney. “Now is the time again to focus, to rally behind the vice president, and make sure she has the strongest team behind her, and that we can make sure we have victory in November.”

Monroe County Democratic Committee Chair Stephen Devay says Biden dropping out will allow Democrats to reset and refocus.

“I think at this point, our role and our job and the Democratic party here is going to be around energizing around the candidate that does replace him as president,” says Devay.

Devay says with Biden out, a lot of the focus has shifted to the Democratic National Convention.

“The vice president is somebody who is ready to go,” Devay says. “She has been… there’s a reason he picked her as the vice president. And you pick that vice president as somebody that you believe can do the job if something should ever happen to you.”

Monroe County GOP Chair Pat Reilly called Biden’s withdrawal decision “anti-democratic” and saysn in part:

“Today we have learned they will silence the voice of over 14 million primary voters and force Joe Biden off the Democratic ticket just weeks before their convention.”

But, according to a local political and law professor, it’s the delegates who will decide who the nominee will be.

“There’s nearly 4,000 elected delegates who are elected at primaries and caucuses in the U.S. and some of the territories. They’re the ones that decide, certainly on the first ballot,” explains Tim Kneeland, professor and director at Nazareth University. “So if the first ballot goes to Harris, there’s no question.”

If Harris doesn’t receive the delegate vote in the first round, more than 700 super delegates will have their say.

“Super delegates or the party leaders and elected officials, about 700 of them, would put their thumb on the scale,” says Kneeland. “They seem to be endorsing Harris. So again, you might only get a couple of ballots.”

Vice President Harris has since posted on social media about the withdrawal along with former President Barack Obama and other local lawmaker. Click here to see what they have to say.

What local voters have to say

Our Marsha Augustin spoke with voters in Rochester Sunday afternoon, and heard mixed reactions.

“Well, number one, I hope he is okay,” says Rochelle Clarke. “Time is flying. And the elections are coming up — which is a concern — but life happens. It’s not really about what we could’ve done. It’s, ‘What we are going to do now?’ You know? So yeah, it’s crazy.”

I’m speechless,” says Sandra Talarico. “I’m so sorry. I think he should’ve run… really unhappy with what the Democrats have done to him. Just tearing him apart, not giving him any backing what so ever. If they didn’t want him to run, they should’ve done that at the very beginning at the end of his first term.”

Some voters were counting down the days until Biden decided to exit the race.

“It’s about time, that’s all I got to say,” says Republican voter Shane Harsis. “I was hoping it would be sooner rather than later, just because he has declined tremendously.”

“He’s a very knowledgeable man, and I think he knows how to run our county correctly,” says Megan Petersen, and Republican voter and Trump supporter. “So, I just think that there could be a chance. But obviously Trump has the upper power on this one.”

One Biden supporter News10NBC spoke with was shocked Biden chose Sunday to drop out.

“I think at this point, I’m a bigger Kamala Harris fan, just because I think people want fresher perspective,” says Chad Barbe. “So I’m pretty excited. I actually was just talking to my wife about wanting to get involved with her campaign.”

The Democratic National Convention is now less than a month away — where delegates will officially select who will be on the ballot come November.