Featured Image Credit: Getty/Chip Somodevilla/Getty/James Devaney
Topics: Joe Biden, Politics, Kamala Harris
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Joe Biden, Politics, Kamala Harris
Following Joe Biden’s shocking decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, questions remain for many on what exactly happens next.
In case you have somehow managed to escape the news over the weekend, it is now official that current president Joe Biden will not be standing in the 2024 presidential election against Donald Trump.
Biden has long had people suggesting he is too old or not mental proficient enough for a second term but these calls for his departure had gotten louder over recent months.
After his debate on June 27, Biden failed to silence his critics and left many unimpressed.
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In a message posted on his social media pages on Sunday 21 July, he announced he would be stepping down, meaning the Democratic party will have to find a new nominee.
Most people at this point are predicting that vice president Kamala Harris will simply step into the role and we go from there but this might not be exactly how this will play out.
Following his announcement to step down, Biden shared another message on his Twitter page endorsing Harris.
He wrote: “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
At the Democratic National Convention, that runs from August 19 to 22, Biden was expected to formally accept his nomination.
He had received 3,896 delegates during the party's primary contest earlier this year.
However, after stepping down, delegates will head to the convention in Chicago and the more than 3,900 pledged delegates will be able to cast their ballots in an open convention for whichever candidate they want.
Kamala Harris wrote on her own Twitter page that she was honored to have Biden’s endorsement and intends to 'earn and win' this nomination.
It is not clear what other candidates that could push for the top job with many of the big names stating, before Biden dropped out, they would be supporting the president in the race.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has dampened suggestions that he would now run in the race, as he threw his support behind Vice President Harris in a Twitter post.
Michelle Obama, former first lady and wife of Barack Obama, is also another name that often pops up however she has repeatedly said she has no interest in running for president.
Another strong candidate name is the governor for Michigan Gretchen Whitmer. It is not clear whether she has any desire to run and following the stepping down of Biden wrote on Twitter she would continue do ‘everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump.’ Interestingly, in the tweet she did not say she would be supporting Harris.
Whatever candidates end up trying to win the Democratic nomination, to become the party nominee they will need to win the majority of pledged delegates.
If no candidate does actually get a majority then nearly 740 ‘super delegates’ will get an opportunity to vote. These delegates are made up of a number of elected officials and party members.
In case you didn’t know, it’s actually very expensive to become the leader of the United States.
One of the biggest challenges the Democrats face is raising enough cash to take on Donald Trump in such a short amount of time.
In the second quarter of the year, Biden and his team brought in a total of $264 million and finished June with $240 million cash on hand.
Biden can transfer these funds to the party for them to spend on the new nominee but the campaign cannot just transfer the money directly to the nominee.
There is a $2,000 limit per candidate per election so the money would need to be refunded to the original donors who would then have to give it to the candidate.
However, this would not be an issue for Harris as the nominee. Due to campaign finance law, she is able to share the campaign committee with Biden because the president and vice president run together as one ticket.