President Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race onSunday, triggering an unprecedented situation that has left Democrats urgently scrambling for a new nominee with less than four months before the election. They already have a candidate with Biden endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris as his replacement but a lot changes from here.
The Democratic National Convention, scheduled for August 19-22 in Chicago, was originally planned for Biden to formally accept the nomination after securing 3,896 delegates during the primaries. Now, over 4,600 delegates and thousands of other party officials will gather in the city without Biden as their presumptive nominee for the Democratic ticket. So, who will be replacing Biden now?
Biden Drops Out
The president announced his decision in a letter to the American people, expressing that serving as president has been the greatest honor of his life.
"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 to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," he wrote.
His announcement follows weeks of scrutiny after a troubling debate performance cast doubt on his suitability for a second term. Publicly, some Democratic lawmakers urged him to withdraw, while others voiced their concerns privately.
Voters were divided on the next steps. Several polls revealed that most Democrats believed he should step down, but many indicated they would still support him if he chose to remain in the race.
With Biden having made his decision, here's what comes next.
How Will Biden Replacement be Nominated
The Democratic Party has procedures for situations where a candidate withdraws before receiving the formal nomination. Although Biden had secured the necessary delegates, his official nomination was scheduled to take place during a virtual roll call, which was set for the first two weeks of August but not before August 1.
Since Biden stepped down before officially becoming the nominee, the over 3,900 pledged delegates are now free to vote for any candidate of their choice at an open convention.
Before Biden's withdrawal, potential alternatives to him, who had been mentioned, were publicly supporting his candidacy. It remains unclear who will enter the race following his departure.
Some delegates told DailyMail.com before his exit that they intended to support Biden. While some delegates speculated about alternative candidates, many suggested Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential successor, a sentiment reinforced by Biden's endorsement of Harris on Sunday.
Harris in Race Now?
If a candidate secures a majority of pledged delegates on the first ballot, they become the party's nominee. Should no candidate achieve this majority, the process moves to include nearly 740 superdelegates, also known as automatic delegates. These superdelegates comprise a mix of party members and elected officials.
The voting process continues until a candidate secures a majority of the total delegates.
Prior to his withdrawal from the race, Biden had voiced strong support for Harris. Although he had previously said he was not stepping down, he mentioned on July 11 that he "wouldn't have chosen her" if he didn't believe she was "qualified to be president."
Another factor boosting Harris as a strong alternative is the fundraising race.
The Money Game
One of the major hurdles for Democrats is rapidly amassing a substantial amount of money to compete against Donald Trump. The funds previously raised by Biden may not automatically transfer to his successor, potentially leaving a significant financial gap.
In the second quarter of the year, Biden's campaign raised $264 million and ended June with $240 million in cash reserves.
Federal candidates can transfer their campaign funds to the national party without limit, allowing Biden to potentially allocate his funds to the Democratic Party. The party could then use these resources to support the new nominee.
However, the campaign cannot directly transfer funds to a new candidate due to the $2,000 contribution limit per candidate per election. Instead, the money would need to be returned to the original donors, who would then have to contribute it to the new nominee.
Harris would not face these issues as a replacement nominee. Campaign finance regulations permit her to share Biden's campaign committee since the president and vice president run as a unified ticket, meaning her name is already approved.
