How the Democratic Party will choose its nominee, after Biden’s withdrawal from US elections

In a post on Sunday on X, Biden threw his weight behind Vice-President Kamala Harris, saying, “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. 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”.

But that does not automatically make Harris the party’s official nominee. Here is what is likely to happen.

How will the new Democrat nominee be chosen?

In the US President’s election, supporters and leaders of the two major parties — the Democratic Party and the Republican Party — are involved in selecting their official nominees.

The nominees are officially announced at the two party conventions held during the summer. Here, party delegates (mostly active party members, leaders, or early supporters of the candidates) from across the country gather to vote for their preferred candidate.

Delegates are awarded to each candidate after wins in earlier elections held across the states, known as primaries and caucuses. The number of delegates each candidate gets for winning those polls is based on a complex set of rules which vary by state and the political parties.

These “pledged” or assigned delegates can vote for the candidate who won their state at the convention but are not bound to. Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the think tank Brookings Institution and a Democratic National Committee member, told Reuters that Biden spent the last several months accruing nearly 4,000 Democratic delegates by winning primary elections. Those delegates would normally vote for him to be the official presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), set to take place Aug. 19-22, “but the rules do not bind or force them to do so”.

For a candidate to be declared the official party nominee, they need to achieve support from the majority of delegates. “Within hours of Biden’s announcement, Harris’ allies were working the phones – calling delegates and party chairs to get their backing”, sources told Reuters.

What happens then?

Apart from Kamala Karris, some possible Democratic candidates are California Governor Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. A prospective candidate needs to achieve the support of 300 delegates to appear on the ballot, according to The Washington Post.

If no candidate has a majority of delegates going into the convention, it is considered “contested” and delegates will vote for their choices. In the first round, “pledged” delegates are to vote for the candidates they were assigned to initially, based on the primary and caucus results. Other delegates can vote for any candidate.

If no nominee wins in the first round of voting, the convention is considered “brokered”. This is rare, and the last brokered Democratic convention was in 1952. The pledged delegates may choose any candidate in later rounds of voting and candidates try to secure the support of as many delegates as they can. Superdelegates — senior party leaders such as former Presidents and state Governors — can also vote in these later rounds for any candidate. Voting continues until a nominee secures enough candidates.

Is there a shorter route to this?

Not exactly, but there may be an easier path for Harris or the possible nominee to secure the nomination. The state of Ohio has a rule which demands the final party candidates to be officially certified by August 7. If not, their names may not appear on the final November ballot.

With the DNC beginning on August 19, Democrats had planned a virtual roll call with delegates before the convention to voice unanimous support for Biden, so that a name can be officially given for Ohio. If they plan to go ahead with it and there is clear support for Harris, as seems likely, the convention could go much more smoothly, with candidates rallying behind one candidate.