WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden’s campaign tries to calm jittery Democrats, the Democratic National Committee is sprawling talking points This suggests, according to some sources, that there is no procedural means of replacing a president at the top of the party’s ticket without sharing the road ahead if he steps aside.
In the talking points, he said, “Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic presidential nominee,” according to a copy provided by a source who received them. “Any other discussion is a distraction, and ‘mediated’ conventions are a thing of the past.”
Then they say that “the only person who deserves the nomination is Joe Biden.”
Biden has been adamant that he will stay in the race, and the “DNC Talking Points for Convention Nominating Rules” circulated within the party are largely accurate — until the party’s August convention is over.
But with party rules now in place, according to three people familiar with them and the DNC’s 2022 document outlining procedures for the convention, there is a process to replace Biden if he chooses to voluntarily step aside after the final decision on Aug. 22. convention.
Under the current rule, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. and will announce a new nominee in consultation with Democratic Governors Association Chairman Tim Waltz. Minnesota. Their selection will be presented to DNC members — a smaller and more elite group of party leaders than convention delegates — for ratification or rejection.
His candidacy is expected to take place before that, in late July or early August, with a virtual call of state delegations. The date for this is expected to be determined by the convention’s rules committee at its July 19 meeting.
The Biden campaign wants everyone to think “chaos will reign” if the president steps down, a person familiar with the DNC process said. “So they don’t accept that there is a rule.”
One Democratic operative in one battleground state called the talking points “f—-ed up.”
“This is what MAGA Republicans are doing, not us. The DNC needs to take over,” the person said.
“The primaries are over and the will of the Democratic voters in every state is clear: Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. Delegates have pledged to reflect the mood of the electorate, and over 99% of delegates have already pledged to Joe Biden heading into our convention,” Harrison said.
The Biden campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.
Democrats have been struggling to match the top of their ticket since Thursday’s lackluster debate performance, in which Biden repeatedly struggled to make a coherent argument and often appeared lost. Several of them have called for Biden to step aside to protect or improve his chances of defeating former President Donald Trump and winning majorities in the House and Senate.
According to the rules of the Federal Election Commission how to transfer money If there is a replacement, the rules of the Democratic National Committee and the political optics of a fight that would jeopardize the support of black voters and women, most Democrats say, make it hard to see how anyone other than Vice President Kamala Harris will fare. unless the candidate is Biden.
Before the convention, several thousand elected convention delegates—almost all pledged to Biden—have the power to choose the party’s nominee.
“With no primary challenger, the vast majority of elected delegates are Biden delegates … so he will be the nominee on the first ballot,” the DNC member said. But that member said that would change if Biden becomes vacant after receiving the nomination.
“At that historic moment, DNC members will choose the party’s nominee,” said a DNC member.
It is still possible for the convention delegates to change the rules at the convention, which happens after the virtual recall nomination.
“All of this could lead to a more orderly convention,” if Biden runs through a virtual ballot, then releases his delegates before the actual convention, a rule Harrison uses.
However, there is a chance that it will backfire on some members of the party who think that an open congress should be held.
“You can pretend you don’t want coordination right now because it might backfire someday,” the source said.
Campaign-finance law experts say Biden’s campaign war chest could be given to Harris because he is his running mate and appears so in filings with the FEC. But any other candidate would likely have to raise new money for his campaign.
There are other challenges to any scenario that doesn’t include Biden as a candidate: All 50 state laws regulate ballot printing, and some of those ballots may have difficulty getting a new candidate.
However, the Biden campaign and its allies are concerned enough about the rift within the party that they are actively arguing that Biden is the only candidate who can carry the party’s standard in November.
At the same time, some prominent Democrats highlighted both names on the ticket – Biden and Harris – in recent interviews, opening the door to the idea that the vice president could be the party’s presidential nominee.
“I’m a Biden-Harris guy, so I’m not walking away from that,” said Jim Clyburn, D.C., whose endorsement helped boost Biden’s support among black voters in the 2020 primary. said after the debate. “I’m a Biden-Harris supporter. If Harris isn’t there, I’ll be with Biden, and if Biden isn’t, I’ll be with Harris.”