By: Shawn  Wang

Over the next 5 weeks, president Biden may be facing the possibility of getting replaced by another democrat for the 2024 presidential election. This idea is being discussed more than ever after Biden’s halting debate performance against Trump.

Right now, Biden has the power to release all his pledged delegates — 3,894 of 3,937 committed so far — according to a tally by The Associated Press. If this were to happen, all of the released delegates would be allowed to vote for whoever they would like, a rarity in modern U.S. politics. This decision is up to president Biden to decide on whether or not he will give up power himself.

In the party’s official rules, it is written that, “All delegates to the National Convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.” Technically, this would allow the Democratic convention to vote for someone who they see as better than Biden.

However, “The only way that could happen without Biden’s consent is if a majority of about 4,000 delegates decided that he shouldn’t be the nominee, that they had somebody better,” said Elaine Kamarck, a senior at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, and an expert on convention rules and Procedures.

If Biden is to be replaced, vice president Kamala Harris will be running for the presidency. However, she may not win the race very easily, as shown with recent rocky tenure and weak poll numbers.

There are many others who may replace Biden besides Harris. There is Gov. Gavin Newsom of California; Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania; Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois; Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky; and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

Other honorable mentions include Pete Buttigieg, the secretary of transportation; Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/28/us/politics/replace-biden.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare