Left: US President Joe Biden speaks at Florida Memorial University on November 1, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida (mpi04/MediaPunch /IPX). Right: Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Kalamazoo, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio).
Now that President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House, here’s a look at how Democrats will have to replace him.
As the presumptive nominee, Biden has already won about 3,900 out of the 4,000 delegates that decide the nomination. Now those delegates will have to go to someone else. Moments after announcing he was ending his reelection bid, Biden said he was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
“A major party’s presumptive nominee stepping down months before Election Day is not an ordinary event, but it is also not a crisis,” said Trevor Potter, founder and president of Campaign Legal Center said in a statement.
Harris — or someone else — will have to win over half of the 4,000 delegates and while she certainly has a leg up on other candidates, Biden’s endorsement does not guarantee her the nomination. There are also other advantages to having Harris as the nominee for president or vice president, namely being able to hold onto the funds already in the Biden-Harris war chest. Should Harris not be the nominee, Federal Election Commission rules allow Biden to return the funds to donors or transfer the money to the national or state Democratic parties.
Reuters reports the Biden campaign had $91 million in the bank at the end of May.
“Regardless of whom the Democratic Party ultimately chooses as its candidate, what matters most is voters having the final say on who becomes the next President of the United States. I urge all parties to follow the law and respect the outcome of the election in November,” Potter said.
Other candidates out there could include other prominent Democrats, but Biden made clear he is backing Harris.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” he wrote on social media. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
The Democratic National Convention is slated for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, but there could be an earlier vote at the beginning of next month to eliminate any drama headed into Windy City convention.
According to the Washington Post, if there is an open convention candidates would have to obtain signatures from at least 300 delegates to get on the ballot. Should no candidates earn the majority, there would be a second ballot with super delegates voting. There would be subsequent ballots until a nominee wins over half of delegates.
The Democratic nominee will face former President Donald Trump, who accepted the nomination earlier this week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and has gained steam following the assassination attempt and Biden’s stumbles.
Earlier Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Democrats would likely face legal challenges should Biden’s name be left off the ballot.
“Every state has its own system, and in some of these, it’s not possible to simply just switch out a candidate,” he said on ABC’s This Week, according to Politico.
But The Independent, citing state secretaries of state, said no such laws exist to prevent Dems from changing out Biden before their convention.
“In reality, there would be no legal problem in any state,” said election law expert Richard Winger. “No state requires a qualified party to certify its nominees for national office earlier than August 21.”
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