As Biden suspends reelection campaign, this is what could happen next

(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden on Sunday succumbed to pressure from leaders of his own party and suspended his reelection campaign. Several organizations have explained the process to replace him as the Democratic nominee.

“There is no formal line of succession for a presidential nominee,” BallotPedia explains . Harris “would not automatically assume the role.”

Democrats would hold an open convention and delegates would “participate in rounds of voting until a new candidate received a majority of convention delegate votes,” Ballotpedia reports. “The Democratic Party's 2024 Delegate Selection Rules do not provide specific guidance for how delegates should vote if their candidate withdraws.”

However, 14 states have laws that require presidential convention delegates “to vote according to how they were allocated after the state's primary;” 12 states allow delegates “to be released when a candidate withdraws or after a specific number of rounds of voting at the national convention.”

The party could change the rules at the convention.

If a nominee is not selected by the majority of delegates in the first round of voting, a brokered convention would take place, also referred to as a multi-ballot convention.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison on Sunday promised "a firm commitment to nominating and electing a Democratic president" after Biden's departure from the race.

"In short order, the American people will hear from the Democratic Party on next steps and the path forward for the nomination process," Harrison's said in a statement.

There have been 15 multi-ballot Democratic National Conventions. The last one was in 1952 when, after three rounds of voting, delegates nominated Adlai Stevenson.

If Biden had remained in the race and delegates elected him as the party’s nominee, but something were to happen causing the need for him to be replaced on the ballot after the convention and before the election, the Democratic National Committee is responsible for filling the vacancy, according to the Democratic Party’s bylaws .

“Under Article IX.G of the Call of the Convention, ‘[i]n the event of death, resignation or disability’ of a presidential or vice-presidential nominee after the convention, ‘the National Chairperson of the [DNC] shall confer with the Democratic leadership of the United States Congress and the Democratic Governors Association and shall report to the [DNC], which is authorized to fill the vacancy or vacancies,” the Congressional Research Service states .