By: Nathan Chen

The possibility of replacing President Biden at the top of the Democratic Party presidential ticket on Sunday due to his bad debate performance against former President Donald J. Trump is very likely. Biden could still step down, release pledged delegates, and open up the convention. Biden has gathered 3,894 of the 3,937 delegate count required to win the candidate spot.

If Biden decides against running for a second term, Vice President Kamala Harris would be the first in line to land the position. However, poll numbers and Harris had one of the most left-leaning(liberal) voting records during her time in the U.S. Senate witch could impact voters. Others on the possible list of potential caniditates are Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker, and Andy Beshear, Governors of Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, and Kentucky; Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, and Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker, Senators from Minnesota and New Jersey.

The Democratic National Convention could play an important role. If Biden were to drop out before the convention began, it would open the convention, leading to a struggle over a candidate. If Biden withdraws after the convention, the Democratic National Committee has an apparatus to select a new candidate.

That will be difficult; behaving as president requires the majority of nearly 4,000 delegates. But the Democratic Party designed its processes to be more democratic, and thus less controlled by party leaders.

It would be possible to replace President Biden; however, doing so would be an extremely long process. The next few weeks will be important, and Democrats will see options for their party and find a balance with unity heading into the next campaign.

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/28/us/politics/replace-biden.html