Kamala explains Harris’ path to the Democratic nomination

President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race after winning the Democratic primary puts the party in an unprecedented position.

With just weeks to go before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago — and less than four months until Election Day — they’re running short on time to close tickets and start campaigning around an entirely new candidate. Democrats appear to be rallying around Biden’s preferred successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, and appear likely to be the presidential nominee.

Here are seven questions answered about what needs to happen before Harris is nominated, what an open process might look like for Democrats to choose their next presidential nominee, and what’s next for Harris and his party.

1) Will Harris automatically replace Biden as the Democratic nominee?

Harris is not officially the Democrats’ nominee; The support of the leader of the Democratic Party is not enough.

Harris admits this and says he wants to “Income and win this nomination” While there’s still technically a chance he won’t be nominated, the endorsement he’s already locked in should make it unlikely anyone will credibly challenge him.

He is supported by All 50 Democratic state party chairsincluding party leaders Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and will have many Democratic challengers. is on that list Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Maryland Governor Wes MooreAnd North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. Many of them are seen as his potential vice presidential picks.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who has left the Democratic Party Register as an independent Earlier this year, briefly appeared to consider running to re-register as a Democrat, but quickly said he was Will not challenge Harris – though he stopped supporting her.

2) Does Harris get Biden’s delegates?

Rules Committee of the Democratic National Committee Call this Wednesday Establishing a process whereby a new nominee can be selected through an open process (essentially meaning that people other than party leaders get some input into who the nominee will be).

There are some states that August deadline The nominee to make it onto the ballot — including Iowa, whose deadline is Aug. 16 — could dictate how the process works. That means the nominee could be chosen before nearly 4,000 delegates gather at the convention that begins Aug. 19. Typically, delegates formally vote on the winner of the party’s primaries to become the official nominee at the convention — a process most recently held at last week’s Republican Party. National Conference.

These delegates are party loyalists — everyone from election workers to elected officials — and are assigned to each state or territory by the party. They are committed to their state’s primary winning candidate, but they could theoretically deviate from it DNC ruleswhich states that they “shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”

Biden won more than 3,800 delegates in the Democratic primary. They will now be released and can vote for any candidate they want. As of Monday afternoon, Harris had already received approval 1,1152 He must win the nomination out of 1,986 delegates.

3) How will DNC delegates choose a nominee to replace Biden?

State representatives must decide among themselves who they will support.

However, in the hours since Biden made the announcement, many of those who have rallied seem to be rallying around Harris.

In elaborating their arguments, many representatives cited the fact that voters in their states Already endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in the Democratic primary And he deserves to carry the torch forward. In that sense, they see themselves as obeying the will of the democratic electorate, but they are not directly seeking new input from the electorate—at least not formally.

4) What happens at the Democratic National Convention?

Before Biden dropped out, the DNC planned a virtual roll call to lock up the nomination before the convention. The DNC adopted a virtual approach during the pandemic when roll calls — which normally take place in person at the convention and where delegates formally announce their votes and select their nominees — had to happen remotely.

Democrats could now decide to hold a similar meeting before the convention and, if a majority of delegates support Harris, his nomination would be secured.

If not, the matter could technically go to an open convention, which has not happened since 1968. In every election since 1968, the convention has rallied around the nominee rather than choosing it. But Harris has already won so many delegates that it seems unlikely he will face any real competition at the convention, or that an open convention will be as contentious as 1968.

5) What is an open conference?

An open convention is one in which delegates hash out who will be nominated. It’s a process more akin to the way presidents are chosen, but one that fell out of style after the debacle of a Democratic convention in 1968.

Since then, the process has been this: Each state has a primary, many fairly early in the presidential cycle, and then conventions are held to certify the voters’ will through a formal nominating process that strengthens the party before Election Day.

That may not happen this time, but something like this could happen. It doesn’t seem like an open conference at this point given how quickly Harris has rallied delegates to his side.

However, on the off chance that this happens, here’s how an open conference would work.

The important thing to know is that the process will unfold as delegates vote on the convention floor for the candidate they support as the nominee.

A candidate will need a majority of pledged delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot. If no candidate achieves this majority, the convention moves to additional ballots, where delegates continue to vote until someone emerges as the winner.

There is also 749 Superdelegate, who are high-profile party leaders from members of Congress to former presidents. If they vote in a bloc, they can quickly coalesce around one candidate (perhaps Harris) to help end the process. However, they cannot vote on the first ballot at the convention. They participate in voting only when the convention goes to the second ballot or later.

6) What is the timeline for this process?

It’s up in the air for now, but Wednesday’s DNC meeting will be livestreamed. The rules committee is then expected to develop a timeline.

7) So, Kamala Harris can go ahead with the campaign?

Harris can start campaigning immediately. In fact, he has already hit the ground running.

He could draw from $240 million in Biden’s campaign cash because he was already on the Biden-Harris ticket. Unless they can self-fund their campaigns, any other Democrat will face an uphill battle to match the kind of resources Harris currently has behind him.

The DNC may not be able to formally endorse him until he secures the nomination, but that creates an imperative for the party to act quickly in deciding on a nominee.

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