With less than four months till election day, United States President Joe Biden’s departure from the 2024 presidential contest has left Democrats wondering what to do next. After receiving intense criticism from fellow Democrats for his dismal June debate performance against former President Donald Trump, Biden announced his resignation on Sunday. According to experts, Democrats’ best chance of defeating Trump now is to unite behind a fresh contender and rekindle their support base. Kamala Harris, the vice president, is the early favorite to succeed Biden, particularly now that the president has endorsed her. Additionally, Biden urged supporters to give to Harris’s campaign.
Nevertheless, Biden’s choice to step down is not only strange; it is unheard of in US politics today. “This is new ground for us,” stated Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the University of Virginia Center for Politics’ election-related periodical Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Additionally, in the upcoming days, Harris might run against opponents vying for the Democratic candidacy. At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago the following month, almost 4,000 delegates—party officials and activists—will cast their votes to select the next nominee. Parties have in the past selected their nominees at competitive conventions held following the primaries. Such was a common occurrence before the implementation of the current primary system in 1972, which gave voters more influence over the electoral process. But things are not the same for the Democrats right now.
The approval of the president
Vice President Kamala Harris was backed by Biden to take his place at the top of the Democratic Party ticket shortly after he declared his withdrawal from the contest. Kondik asserted that Biden’s support had a significant impact. The great majority of delegates are in favor of the president. Furthermore, even though they are not required to support Harris, Biden’s support might swing the odds in her favor. Following Biden’s announcement, a plethora of prominent Democrats publicly endorsed Harris, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democratic Party state leaders, and governors of California and Pennsylvania who were thought to be potential competitors for the nomination, like Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro.
The vice president may take over the infrastructure of the Biden-Harris campaign and has a well-known national name. According to Kondik, the “path of least resistance” for Democrats would be to nominate Harris. In agreement, Bose declared that Harris was the most “logical choice” to provide a “seamless transition.” She told Al Jazeera, “There isn’t much time for an open competition for delegate support.” Prior to Biden’s statement on Friday, Hans Noel, a professor in Georgetown University’s Department of Government, also stated that Harris was expected to win the nomination.
Unanswered questions
Now that Biden has left the presidential race, the Democratic Party must worry about how people will react to such a significant upheaval so close to the election. For US presidential campaigns to reach voters nationwide, significant financial and human resources must be committed. Some begin as much as two years ahead of schedule. Starting a campaign from the beginning won’t be simple. “To reach the voters who we know are most undecided, campaigns require enormous amounts of infrastructure, money, and messaging,” stated Casey Burgat, the George Washington University head of the legislative affairs department.
Reaching hesitant voters, according to Burgat, requires a lot of work: “You need to hit them several times.” Individuals must be pounding on doors. All that needs to be created is a massive infrastructure. Uncertainty also surrounds what will happen to the campaign monies that Biden has collected. The fate of Biden’s war fund has been a subject of controversy, as there is no precedence for the current circumstances. After all, election expenditures in the US might reach billions of dollars. Burgat did point out that Harris is less affected by campaign finance laws because she is already running as Biden’s vice president and has assisted with his fundraising.
Chances and obstacles
If Biden’s departure has disadvantages, there are also advantages. The thought of an election between Biden and Trump had not thrilled many Americans. Before Biden’s declaration, 65% of Democrats thought he ought to withdraw from the race, according to a recent poll conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Only three out of ten respondents said they were certain he possessed the mental clarity required to function as president. According to Burgat, the party may benefit greatly from the invigorating influence of a fresh, younger candidate.
The most frequent comment we receive is, “It’s unbelievable that these are our only two possibilities. He remarked, “People have been wondering how their choice has been reduced to these two very unpopular candidates in this country of 350 million people.” Democrats in difficult congressional districts were particularly concerned that Biden’s unpopularity would hinder contenders at all levels of the ticket, decreasing their chances of winning contests that they otherwise might have. Alarming trends in that direction were shown by recent polling. According to a Blue Rose Research survey, over half of swing voters thought Democrats were lying about Biden’s mental health, according to the Wall Street Journal. The study found that nearly thirty percent of respondents who backed Biden in 2020 also felt this way.