WASHINGTON — In the wake of President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election, Democrats must now select a new candidate through a process unlike any other in modern American history.
Nomination History
No national laws govern how political parties select their candidates, leaving the rule-making to the parties. This has caused problems throughout U.S. history at conventions.
Throughout the decades, the brokered convention was often possible for each party. A brokered convention happened when a party's nominee was not selected by a majority of the delegates in the first round of voting.
Historically, that led to some candidates being selected after an exhaustive voting process. President James Garfield was selected as the nominee in 1880 after 36 rounds of voting. In 1924, West Virginia Congressman John W. Davis secured the Democratic nomination after 103 rounds of voting over 17 days.
According to Ballotpedia, the last brokered Democratic convention happened in 1952, when the party nominated Adlai Stevenson after three ballots. The last Republican brokered convention was in 1948.
The last President to voluntarily step aside from seeking re-election was President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 due to his Vietnam policies. However, he stepped aside before the primary season had gotten underway.
In 1972, Vice Presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton withdrew after news of hospitalizations for depression was made public.
Process changes
The 1968 Democratic primary helped change the overall nomination process. The Democrats ended up nominating Hubert Humphrey after the candidate did not participate in a single primary election. The convention was marred with protests outside and problems inside as the selection was made.
After the 1968 disaster, Democrats decided to change their strategy.
For the first time in 1972, delegates from each state were pledged to specific candidates based on the percentage of the vote they won in the primary elections. The Republican Party would change their rules in a similar manner.
Since then, that has been the process Americans are familiar with when it comes to presidential nominations.
2024 Election
That brings us back to the current presidential election.
President Biden's decision to step aside as the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee sets in motion the process for Democrats to select a replacement candidate who will then be voted upon at the national convention.
Biden wasted no time throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Other Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are coalescing around Vice President Harris as the party's choice.
If Harris is the nominee, it may present the fewest problems for Democrats. Her name is already on fundraising accounts, and whatever money Biden had would most likely go straight to the Harris campaign fund if she chooses to run.
Democratic National Party chairperson Jamie Harrison will have to call a special meeting to fill the vacancy at the top of the ticket. At that point, rules and bylaws state the voting to fill a vacancy on the national ticket "must proceed in accordance with procedural rules adopted by the Rules and Bylaws Committee and approved by the DNC."
But, as with everything in politics, nothing is likely as simple as it may seem.
In the United States, elections are held and controlled at the state level under state laws. Each state conducts elections by its own laws, and each has certain rules/timelines that are mandated for elections.
Because of this, Democrats must follow every rule and bylaw exactly as written to ensure their process works with respective state laws. Additionally, parties have to submit names of nominees by specific dates in order to get on the general election ballot.
The dates are typically in August and September after both parties have nominated their candidates. So, if a party wanted to change a nominee, it would need states to allow for changes, which states have typically done in the past.
However, multiple legal challenges may complicate everything. Some conservative groups have said they may file challenges to any nominee selected by Democrats other than Biden.
As is often said, when something monumental happens like this, there will be lawyers.
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