Vice President Kamala Harris moved swiftly to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House after President Joe Biden stepped aside amid concerns from within their own party that he would be unable to defeat Republican Donald Trump.
Biden’s exit Sunday, prompted by Democratic worries over his fitness for office, was a seismic shift to the presidential contest that upended both major political parties’ carefully honed plans for the 2024 race.
Aiming to put weeks of intraparty drama over Biden’s candidacy behind them, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris in the hours after Biden announced he was dropping his reelection campaign.
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Biden’s departure frees up his delegates to vote for whomever they choose. Harris, whom Biden backed after ending his candidacy, is thus far the only declared candidate and was working to quickly secure endorsements from a majority of delegates.
It’s only the first item on a staggering political to-do list for her after Biden’s decision to exit the race, which she learned about on a Sunday morning call with the president. If she’s successful at locking up the nomination, she must also pick a running mate and pivot a massive political operation to boost her candidacy instead of Biden’s with just over 100 days until Election Day.
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Speaking to party leaders, Harris expressed gratitude for Biden’s endorsement but insisted she was looking to earn the nomination in her own right, the person said.
In a sign that the Democratic Party was moving to coalesce behind her, Harris quickly won endorsements from the leadership of several influential caucuses and political organizations, including the AAPI Victory Fund, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, The Collective PAC, focused on building Black political power, and the Latino Victory Fund, as well as the chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the entire Congressional Black Caucus. Harris, if elected, would be the first woman and first person of South Asian descent to be president.
Notably, a handful of men who had already been discussed as potential running mates for Harris — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly — also swiftly issued statements endorsing her. Aides to Shapiro and Cooper confirmed that Harris spoke with them Sunday afternoon. In her brief call with Cooper, the North Carolina governor told Harris he was backing her to be the Democratic nominee, according to Cooper spokeswoman Sadie Weiner.
But former President Barack Obama held off on an immediate endorsement, as some in the party have expressed worry that the quick shift to Harris would appear to be a coronation, instead pledging his support behind the eventual party nominee.
What happens next?
Biden’s decision to endorse Harris is not a binding one, as Democratic Party rules don’t allow him to simply select a successor in the role as nominee when delegates gather next month in Chicago for the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
According to NBC News, Democratic Party rules do outline what would happen since Biden stepped aside before he was formally nominated.
“Note that if this unprecedented situation were to happen, it’s possible the party could vote to change any of the rules around candidate replacement. And if it comes to pass after the convention, it’s possible state laws could complicate efforts to replace Biden on specific ballots,” NBC News reported.
According to reports, 33 states abide by party rules by default when changing nominees, but that still could pose some legal challenges for the Democrats as they put together a new ticket.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has hinted that legal challenges could be brought in at least some of those states, according to Politico.
Biden dropping out before he was set to be formally nominated in August could also create a free-for-all among Democrats since there is no mechanism for him or anyone else to anoint a chosen successor.
It takes a majority of the roughly 4,000 pledged delegates to win the party’s nomination. Biden’s won 3,900 of them, but he’ll need to release them in order for a replacement nominee to be named.
“Number one is President Biden would have to release his delegates. They are bound on the first ballot no matter what, and that’s almost all 4,000 of the delegates are Biden delegates – they are pledged on the first ballot. The only way that works is if the Rules Committee, which the Biden campaign controls, or the president himself, frees those delegates up,” Pete Giangreco, a Democratic strategist, told NBC Chicago.
After that, potential nominees will need to begin gathering signatures to be eligible for a vote from their fellow Democrats.
“The next step in the process then is anyone who wants to put their name in, they need signatures from 300 of those delegates, among those 4,000, and then you begin a process. The most likely person to get 300 signatures would be VP Harris,” Giangreco.
Under recent reforms, the party’s more than 700 superdelegates — Democratic lawmakers and dignitaries — are allowed to vote only if no one wins a majority of pledged delegates on the first ballot, so their votes could be crucial in a contested convention.
Since Biden’s opponents all won effectively no delegates throughout the Democratic nominating process, there’d be a virtual clean slate heading into the convention, and the decision would likely come down to the convention delegates who were initially pledged to Biden.
Biden still has some influence over his pledged delegates, but ultimately, they can vote as they please so candidates would likely campaign aggressively to win over each individual delegate.
Once a candidate secures a majority of the delegate votes, they will be the party’s nominee.
What about the vice presidential nominee?
The process is the same for the vice-presidential spot on the ticket.
A majority of delegates will have to agree on a candidate.
It’s unclear whether Democrats have already planned out a nominee should Harris end up heading the ticket, but many high-profile officials could be in the mix.
Who could replace Biden?
Biden – as expected – threw his endorsement behind Harris, writing on social media, “…Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
Among the potential candidates, the former U.S. Senator from California was considered best positioned to replace him, but she’ll have some competition.
Harris would have a head start over several of the most discussed Democratic alternatives. She’s already been on a winning presidential ticket with Biden, has years of goodwill banked with core party constituencies and would likely control a huge campaign fund amassed by the Biden reelection.
A number of delegates have already suggested they’d be loyal to Harris.
“Harris makes the most sense to carry on the Biden legacy,” said Andrew Feldman, a Democratic strategist who works closely with various state parties.
A recent poll, conducted prior to Biden’s announcement, from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Kamala Harris would do a good job in the top slot. About 2 in 10 Democrats don’t believe she would, and another 2 in 10 say they don’t know enough to say.
Alvin Tillery, director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern University and a Democratic pollster, previously said Harris is the only candidate with the name recognition required to compete against Trump.
“[Of the] five other successor candidates, only one has the name recognition to win nationally: Kamala Harris,” Tillery told NBC Chicago.
Other names that could see a spot on the ticket, either in a presidential or vice presidential role include: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, to name a few.