After a week of pressure from Democratic leaders to reconsider his reelection bid, President Biden has made the extraordinary decision to withdraw from the presidential race.
“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,” said Biden in a statement released Sunday.
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Biden endorsed Vice President Harris moments after announcing that he would no longer seek the Democratic nomination for president. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden said in a post shared on X. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
The coming days will prove pivotal as Democratic leaders try to unite the party’s many factions around Harris, its new standard-bearer. Here are some details on how the process could unfold.
Who will replace Biden?
Vice President Harris is the likeliest candidate to replace Biden at the top of the ticket as Biden has endorsed her and many in the party have already signaled they’d accept her as the nominee.
But Harris’s nomination isn’t guaranteed just because she has Biden’s endorsement and is his vice president and former running mate. The Democratic Party is free to tap a different replacement — a governor, perhaps — if its members coalesce around another candidate. Even then, the nominee won’t become official until delegates vote.
How will a new nominee be chosen?
Unlike a president’s resignation, which automatically promotes the vice president, Biden dropping out of the race does not mean Harris will be at the top of the ticket. Most Democrats and strategists expect that she will be his replacement, but delegates who select the presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention are free to vote for any candidate they like.
His delegates are free to vote however they would like.
