Biden is out: What’s next for Democrats?

WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden

announced on July 21 that he is no longer seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination,

saying his exit from the race was in the best interests of his party and the country.

The 81-year-old incumbent pulled out of the race after

a poor debate performance

raised doubts about his ability to defeat the Republican nominee, 78-year-old former president Donald Trump. Mr Biden threw his support to his running mate, Vice-President Kamala Harris.

How will the Democratic Party’s nomination process work?

With Mr Biden out, the Democrats still need to officially name their nominee for the presidency at the party’s national convention, scheduled to begin on Aug 19 in Chicago.

Mr Biden won 99 per cent of the pledged delegates in the primaries and caucuses held in states and territories from January to end-June. Under Democratic party rules, those delegates “shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them”.

Mr Biden’s decision to offer his “full support and endorsement” to Ms Harris will undoubtedly hold considerable sway for his delegates. The Vice-President said that she is “honoured to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination”.

Could others challenge Ms Harris?

Yes. In that case, the selection process could become a so-called contested (or brokered) convention. Any challenger to Ms Harris, 59, would have to announce his or her candidacy before a formal nominating vote, publicly challenging the designated heir. 

In a first round of voting, only pledged delegates would vote; a simple majority is required to win the nomination. After that first ballot, another group of 700 delegates – sometimes known as super delegates – can vote. That group includes members of Congress, party leaders and other luminaries of the party, and is not pledged to any candidate. 

Why is Ms Harris the preferred candidate?

For one thing, because she was Mr Biden’s running mate,

the money that has already been raised for the ticket

would be available to her

and a new vice-presidential candidate.

Modern presidential campaigns are hugely expensive undertakings, and financial considerations play no small role. Mr Biden’s campaign and the Democratic Party have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to re-elect the Biden-Harris ticket. 

Mr Biden and the Democratic Party entered July with US$240 million (S$323 million) cash on hand compared with US$285 million for Trump.

Picking a nominee other than Ms Harris could require spending even more money to introduce a new candidate to voters. Those have been thought to potentially include California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, though CBS News reported on July 21 that Mr Newsom and Ms Whitmer plan not to seek the nomination. None of them have as much national name recognition as Ms Harris.

In addition, for Democrats to pass over a woman of colour would risk alienating two of the party’s most important voting blocs.

Has a sitting president ever withdrawn from the race before?

Yes. Former president Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, decided not to seek his party’s nomination for a second full term in 1968, as protests against the Vietnam War mounted. In an Oval Office speech, Mr Johnson made the surprise announcement that “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president”. Instead, the Democrats nominated Mr Hubert Humphrey, Mr Johnson’s vice-president, who was defeated by Mr Richard Nixon.

Mr Johnson’s decision came at the end of March – at a time when the process for determining the major parties’ presidential nominees was not nearly as front-loaded as it is today. Unlike Mr Biden, Mr Johnson had not yet secured enough delegates in party primaries to nail down the nomination. BLOOMBERG