President Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, setting off an unprecedented chain of events that has left Democrats scrambling for a candidate at the top of the ticket with less than four months to go before Election Day.
The Democratic National Convention is set to begin on August 19 to 22 in Chicago where Biden is set to officially receive the nomination after receiving 3,896 delegates during the primary election.
More than 4,600 delegates and thousands of other party officials will now travel to the city without Biden as the presumptive candidate for the Democratic ticket.
The president made the announcement in a letter to fellow Americans in which he wrote that it was the greatest honor of his presidential life to throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Although it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of the party and the country for me to step down and focus solely on completing my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” he wrote. .
President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he will step aside and not seek re-election in the 2024 presidential election. He said it was in the best interest of his party and his country.
The announcement comes just weeks after a disastrous presidential debate performance, raising questions about whether he is fit for a second term. Several Democratic lawmakers have publicly called for him to drop out of the race. Others keep their opinions behind closed doors.
Voters are divided on the way forward. Some polls show a majority of Democrats think he should drop out of the race, but many say they would still vote for him if he stays.
Only Biden can make a decision when he comes out. Now that he’s done, here’s what happens next:
What are the nomination rules?
The Democratic Party has rules that determine what happens if the president recuses himself before he is officially nominated.
While Biden has the necessary delegates, his official nomination will take place during a virtual roll call before the convention. The latest guidance is for it to happen in the first two weeks of August but not before August 1.
Because Biden dropped out of the race before officially becoming the nominee — more than 3,900 delegates pledged to cast ballots at an open convention for their preferred candidate.
Every alternative to Biden whose name had been floated before he dropped out of the race insisted they supported Biden. It’s unclear who will jump into the race with his departure.
Delegates told DailyMail.com before they left that they would stick with Biden. Few are willing to speculate on an alternative choice, but many have suggested it should be Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed on Sunday to replace her.
If a candidate wins a majority of pledged delegates on the first ballot, he or she becomes the party’s nominee.
If no candidate gets a majority, then the so-called nearly 740 superdelegates, also known as automatic delegates, can also vote. They include a mix of party members and elected officials.
Voting continues until a candidate receives a majority of delegates.
Before Biden dropped out of the race, he expressed his confidence in his second Vice President, Kamala Harris. At the time he insisted he was not out of the race but said on July 11 that he ‘wouldn’t vote for him’ if he ‘didn’t think he was fit to be president.’
President Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on the Fourth of July
Also giving the vice president a viable alternative is the money race.
Is it for money?
One of the biggest challenges for Democrats is how to raise a large enough amount of cash to take on Donald Trump in a short amount of time. Biden’s war chest has not always flowed to his replacement, leaving a lot of money on the table.
In the second quarter of the year, Biden’s team generated a total of $264 million and ended June with $240 million in cash.
Federal candidates can make unlimited transfers of funds to national parties, so Biden can leave all the money with the Democratic Party, which can then spend money on new candidates.
But the campaign cannot just transfer money directly to the nominee, because there is a limit of $2,000 per candidate per election. Instead of giving money directly to the campaign, the money must be returned to the original donor, who must then give it to the candidate.
One person who won’t face the same hurdle as a replacement nominee is Harris.
Campaign finance laws allow him to share a campaign committee with Biden because the president and vice president are running together on one ticket, so his name is valid.