Twenty-four Democrats in Congress have urged Joe Biden to reconsider his bid to go to the polls, citing health concerns and worries about sagging approval ratings for Donald Trump.
 "US Election 2024: If Joe Biden withdraws from the election, what's next for the Democrats?")
Nisha Anand New Delhi
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What would happen if Joe Biden withdraws from the 2024 presidential race?
Some Democrats in Congress have said they would support Vice President Kamala Harris if Biden were to make an extraordinary announcement, but Harris would not automatically become the party’s front-runner for the presidency if Biden were to withdraw.
Like the Republicans, Biden’s party will hold its Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, where delegates will vote to select the official presidential nominee. Prior to that, Democrats will have the opportunity to agree on one name as their nominee, but to be clear, the selection is not official until the delegates have voted.
The four-day Republican National Convention concluded on Thursday, with Trump formally accepting the nomination along with J.D. Vance, who was the former president’s pick for vice president.
The convention marks a critical next step in the campaign, months after both Biden and Trump defeated their party rivals in primary elections earlier this year.
What would happen if Democrats didn’t jointly select a presidential candidate?
If Democrats can’t finalize a nominee, there could be an open convention, in which delegates who would normally choose a preferred candidate would vote for anyone who wants to run.
Currently, the leading candidates to succeed Biden are US Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom. In the past, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker have all been mentioned as possible candidates to replace Biden.
What is the process for selecting a presidential candidate?
During the convention, candidates need to collect the signatures of 600 delegates to be nominated. According to available data, the number of delegates at the convention is expected to be around 4,700, of which 739 will be automatic delegates or “superdelegates.”
In the first round of voting, 3,900 delegates select a candidate. If no candidate receives a majority in this round, superdelegates vote in the next round until a candidate is selected. The last time superdelegates had to vote to select the Democratic presidential nominee was in 1952.
(Note: This article describes the sequence of events that would occur if Biden were to drop out of the race before the convention. There is a different procedure if he were to drop out after the convention.)
(Quoted from Reuters)
