What Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race means for Wisconsin's DNC delegates

MADISON – Just days after Republicans packed up and left Milwaukee following the Republican National Convention, the state's Democratic delegates were shoved into the spotlight as President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.

High-ranking Wisconsin Democrats on Sunday praised Biden's withdrawal from the the race and threw their support to Vice President Kamala Harris to assume the top of the ticket, while Republicans cast suspicion over the way Democrats have handled the saga.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who had previously declined to say whether Biden should remain on the ballot as she faces her own tight reelection race, told reporters at a campaign event in Stoughton that Biden's decision to withdraw from the race was "the patriotic thing for him to do" and said she would back Harris.

Is there any historical precedent for such a development in a presidential campaign?

"No," Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university's Elections Research Center told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "There's nothing like this."

Who will Wisconsin send as delegates to the Democratic National Convention?

Wisconsin has 95 delegates and seven alternates to the DNC, out of about 4,000 overall. The DNC will be held in Chicago Aug. 19-22.

The delegation includes Baldwin, Gov. Tony Evers, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Wisconsin Elections Commission chair Ann Jacobs, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and other state and local-level Democrats.

See the full list, including alternates, here .

How do Democrats select their presidential nominee?

Delegates make the decision.

"It seems like Biden has released (the delegates from their pledges). He didn't say that formally, but they're also not formally bound to him," Burden said.

In contrast, Republicans have delegates who are bound to a particular candidate.

"The Democrats have looser rules. They say that the delegates are pledged to the candidate, and they should vote for that person in good conscience, that they're linked to," Burden said. "But there aren't actually rules that force them to do that."

How likely is it that Vice President Kamala Harris will be the nominee?

Very.

A section of the DNC rules, known as the " good conscience " clause, states delegates shall "in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.

Burden said he thinks it would be difficult for any Democratic politician, no matter how prominent, to edge Harris out of the frontrunner position.

Has anything like this happened before?

The current system of delegates, selected via primaries and caucuses, has only existed for about 50 years, Burden said.

"During that era, we've never had a candidate, an incumbent president, bail out after the primaries and caucuses were over," Burden said.

Have any Wisconsin DNC delegates spoken since Biden's announcement?

Yes.

Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat and delegate to the Democratic National Convention, posted a joint statement with seven other Milwaukee delegates praising Biden as someone who "always put his country first."

"We are excited to support Kamala Harris as our presidential nominee," Jacobs wrote in a joint statement. "We have full confidence in her and are energized to help her win this November!!"

How does this affect Republicans' game plan?

"In the short run, I think it trips up the Republicans, who have had a really wonderful week," Burden said. "(Biden's) age, his feebleness, his mental capacity, those were the things that the public had major concerns about. … that's now gone as an issue."

Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming accused Democrats of "subjecting the American people to chaos, uncertainty, and an incapacitated presidency . "

Schimming told the Journal Sentinel a shift from Biden to Harris would not dramatically change Republicans' approach to the campaign because "Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are tied at the hip."

"As far as I'm concerned, Kamala Harris is Joe Biden: The Sequel," Schimming said. "In addition to the fact that I can't wait for her to answer the question of when she finally realized that Joe Biden was not capable of being president, it really gets to the issue of, if he's not capable of being a candidate for president, and the rigors of that, how is he capable of being president?"

Harris has "all the disadvantages of having spent four years with Joe Biden and none of the advantages of making decisions on her own," he said.

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race means for Wisconsin's DNC delegates