With President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential campaign, all eyes are now on Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic National Convention.
President Biden and Vice President Harris had swept through primary season with no real opposition. They quickly captured nearly all of the delegates needed for President Biden to win the presidential nomination.
That was before Sunday afternoon. Now, a process not seen in US presidential history will play out over the next month.
At a Glance:
- Vice President Harris is the only publicly declared candidate for the nomination
- Democratic National Convention will be the final vote for a nominee
- Convention, delegates, and superdelegates all could have major roles in weeks ahead
Who is officially running for the Democratic nomination?
After President Biden's decision to not accept the presidential nomination, speculation immediately surrounded Vice President Harris. She put the speculation to rest quickly when she said she would seek the Democratic presidential nomination.
She received a quick boost when Biden quickly declared his support for Harris to win the nomination.
No other major candidate has declared their intention to run for the nomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in late August.
Who will select the Democratic nominee for President?
There are two types of delegates at the Democratic National Convention: pledged delegates and automatic delegates, typically called superdelegates.
A pledged delegate commits to supporting the candidate that state voters choose. For example, in 2020, Florida voters chose Joe Biden, and the pledged delegates voted for him at the convention.
However, the party's rules include a clause that allows pledged delegates to vote for a different candidate if they do so in "good conscience."
The party allocates pledged delegates to each state based on certain criteria set forth by the party. The pledged delegates can be anyone chosen by the party.
Superdelegates are usually the Democratic Party's top leaders. They are not pledged to vote for any candidate, but they are not allowed to vote on the first ballot at the national convention. Their role would come into play if no candidate were chosen on the first ballot.
In 2024, there are 4,672 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Of those, 3,933 are pledged delegates, and 739 are automatic or superdelegates. Biden garnered the support of roughly 99% of the delegates.
It's expected that Biden's pledged delegates will move their allegiance to Vice President Harris at the convention, giving her more than enough to clinch the nomination.
For example, Florida Democrats said Monday afternoon that 236 of the state's 254 Democratic delegates have endorsed Harris. Party officials said they expected more to join soon.
When will we know the Democratic nominee?
Officially, the nominee won't be known until all the votes are tallied in the first vote at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. However, there could be a wrinkle that could give us the nominee's name ahead of time.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison could call for a virtual vote ahead of the convention to forego any potential chaos. The virtual vote would allow Democrats to vote for their candidate, and the convention would be more of an introduction of their candidate.
What is the "chaos" you mentioned that is possible at the Democratic National Convention?
If no candidate could secure the votes in a virtual vote ahead of the convention, it could open the door for a contested convention.
A contested convention occurs when no candidate wins a majority of the delegates on the first vote. A second vote is called, and then superdelegates are allowed to cast their ballots as well.
According to the Washington Post, a candidate would need to get at least 300 delegates behind them to be considered a potential presidential nominee, and no more than 50 can come from any one state.
The voting would continue until a candidate could secure a majority of the delegates.
What do you mean by saying that the voting would continue?
Literally, the voting at the convention would go through round after round of votes until a winning candidate emerged.
It's happened in the past. President James Garfield was selected as the nominee in 1880 after 36 rounds of voting. In 1924, West Virginia Congressman John W. Davis secured the Democratic nomination after 103 rounds of voting over 17 days.
What does all this mean for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago?
For Democrats, the ideal scenario is for the party to quickly coalesce around Vice President Harris, help launch her campaign, and choose a running mate quickly. This would negate any possible problems on the convention floor.
The Democrats and the convention in Chicago have a history with each other. The 1968 Democratic National Convention happened after the sitting president, Lyndon B. Johnson, said he wouldn't seek the nomination. It also came after the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Against that backdrop, the delegates gathered in Chicago as anti-war protesters inside and outside the convention battled police.
It was a disaster that made a Democratic victory in 1968 unachievable. It's also something Democrats in 2024 hope to completely avoid.
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