There have been growing calls for President Biden to recuse himself from the 2024 presidential race, and more Americans are questioning what will happen to the Democratic nomination process if he continues to run or ultimately allows a new candidate to be selected.
Biden has repeatedly said since his unfavorable debate performance last month that he will not withdraw from the race, but things would not be much more complicated for Democrats if the president opted to step aside before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from Aug. 19-22.
Democrats will formally choose their nominee at their convention, but they are reportedly planning to nominate Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of next month’s convention.
At a party convention, candidates must receive the support of a majority of the party’s roughly 4,000 delegates (party officials who formally select the candidates). Delegates are allocated to candidates based on the results of each state’s primary elections.
A virtual Democratic vote to nominate Biden could come as early as mid-July.
Biden has said multiple times since his unfavorable performance in last month’s debate that he has no plans to withdraw from the race ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention. (Getty Images)
The Democratic Party has “pledged” and “non-pledged” delegates. Pledged delegates must vote for the party’s candidate who wins the primary or caucus in their state, while non-pledged delegates can vote for any candidate. In the Democratic Party, non-pledged delegates are called “superdelegates” and are sitting officeholders and party leaders who can support any candidate.
A total of 1,976 delegates are needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Biden has won roughly 3,900 this year, and under the Democratic National Committee’s rules, those delegates are “pledged” to support Biden’s candidacy.
Biden has not indicated he plans to drop out of the race, but if he did, his delegates would no longer be loyal to him, and his withdrawal would allow the Democratic Party to have an open convention, where candidates could be nominated and a vote could be held until one candidate receives a majority of the delegate votes.
“She’s a burden, but by getting rid of Kamala he would be insulting and losing a valuable constituency. He’s not going to do that.”
“Biden has control over the delegates and alternate delegates. If only Biden wanted to, he could release them, but he won’t,” Craig Shirley, a presidential historian and biographer of former President Reagan, told Fox News Digital.
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But if Biden doesn’t drop out of the race himself, the Democratic National Convention rules would likely allow delegates to force him out of the race. One rule, never tested in modern politics, could leave room for delegates to use their discretion in who they support as the nominee.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the Truman Balcony at the White House on July 4, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Tierney L. Cross)
Rule 13(J) DNC Delegate Selection Rules “Delegates elected to the national convention, who pledge allegiance to the presidential candidate, shall act in accordance with their conscience and reflect the sentiments of the people who elected them,” it states.
To date, there is no definition or historical context for what “according to conscience” means.
Shirley rejected the rule, saying the delegates would remain tied to Biden and arguing that all the “hype” and “fever” about what the delegates would ultimately do was “just media speculation at this point.”
“Here’s what’s going to happen: Biden is re-nominated with Kamala Harris. Biden can’t afford to get rid of Kamala Harris because he has to deal with her. Biden doesn’t want her. She’s a burden, but by getting rid of Kamala, Biden would be insulting and losing a valuable base of support. Biden isn’t going to do that,” Shirley said.
The rules are in place, but the DNC could change the party’s rules at any time.
The rules have changed in the past, such as in 1968 when President Lyndon B. Johnson decided not to seek reelection. At that time, the party moved from an open convention system, in which delegates could choose who they wanted to vote for, to a binding system in which delegates were affiliated with candidates based on the results of primary elections.
The Democratic National Committee is considering formally nominating Biden as soon as mid-July, two Democratic sources confirmed to Fox News Digital this month.
President Biden spoke at his campaign office in Philadelphia on July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator)
The possible date for Biden’s nomination is July 21, when the Democratic National Convention’s qualifications committee meets virtually. Party officials say that’s because the convention takes place after Ohio’s Aug. 7 deadline for polls to be counted.
This summer, Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, signed a bill moving the state’s candidate filing deadline to Aug. 31, ensuring that Democratic candidates could appear on the state’s November ballot even without an early virtual roll call vote.
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The possibility of a roll call on July 21 was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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