While it had been rumored for weeks, the ouster of President Joe Biden from his own reelection campaign nonetheless sent shockwaves throughout the nation on Sunday afternoon.
Biden's announcement also sent more or less the entire Democratic Party scrambling to catch up with the news and plan for what will be one the most interesting nominating conventions within living memory. The Democratic National Convention takes place Aug. 19-22 in Chicago and could well be the first contested convention held by either party in nearly 50 years.
But there is a lot that will happen between now and then. Here is what to expect next week, next month, and into November.
Biden teases speech
In Biden's post to X abruptly suspending his campaign at 1:46 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, July 21, he teased giving an address this coming week, which would take place at some point between July 22 and July 26.
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," he wrote. "I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision."
The president has been holed up with a COVID-19 diagnosis since testing positive for the virus on July 17.
Who could be running?
Biden is planning to remain as president through the end of his term at noon on Jan. 20, 2025. Despite the fact that he has nearly six months left to serve, with his campaign suspended attention will turn quickly to who replaces him as his party's ticket topper.
The president quickly followed up his first post with a second one endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the position.
"My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President," Biden wrote. "And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."
However, the weight of Biden's endorsement may not be very heavy on its own. The president controlled nearly all of the 3,939 delegates attending the DNC by dominating a noncompetitive primary process this spring. He has already said they are free to choose whoever they want at the convention, meaning Harris may have to fend off one or multiple challengers in Chicago.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has drawn rumors of running a shadow campaign for president for well over a year, even debating then-presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on television. He could be tough to beat should he enter the scrum ahead of the convention, though he has pledged in the past to support Harris in the event Biden drops out.
Newsom's office pointed to a tweet the governor sent following Biden's announcement calling him "one of the most impactful and selfless presidents," but did not respond to questions from the Washington Examiner about his future plans.
Other governors thought to have a shot at the nomination should they run include Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY), Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC), and Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD). Any of them could pose a formidable challenge to Harris or make a case to be her running mate in a new ticket.
Democratic National Convention
Party primaries have replaced contested conventions as a means of choosing presidential candidates, though that change took place relatively recently in the nation's history.
The Democratic Party's last open convention took place in 1968 amid disputes over the Vietnam War, during which Hubert Humphrey emerged victorious, and the Republican Party last had one in 1976, when Gerald Ford withstood a challenge from Ronald Reagan. Both of those candidates lost the general election, and party primaries have reigned supreme ever since.
To secure the nomination at this year's Democratic National Convention, a candidate will only need a simple majority of the 3,939 total delegates, or 1,976 in total, to win.
Virtual roll call?
The Democratic National Committee had been planning a virtual roll call on or before Aug. 7 to nominate Biden ahead of the convention, initially to skirt an Ohio law that threatened to keep him off that state's ballot and later to squash rumors Biden would drop out.
That process is up in the air now, with DNC chairman Jaime Harrison releasing a cryptic statement about the next steps.
"In the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November," he said. "This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people."
He vowed to release more details in the coming days.
“In short order, the American people will hear from the Democratic Party on next steps and the path forward for the nomination process," Harrisson said.
Remaining debates
The second and final presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 10. The debate may still take place on the scheduled date but will look vastly different than the one on June 27, during which Biden turned in a disastrous performance that ultimately proved fatal to his campaign.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Of more interest now may be the status of the vice presidential debate.
The Trump campaign has not agreed to a date for that contest, which will pit Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) against an unknown opponent. Trump officials held that because a candidate had not been chosen, a date could not yet be agreed upon.
Most Popular
Comments / 0