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With President Joe Biden dropping his reelection bid, the Democratic Party found itself without a presumptive nominee just one month before the delegates convene in Chicago, Illinois, for the Democratic National Convention.
While the voters have already cast their ballots in the primary elections, easily handing Biden the nomination, the state delegates are not bound to a single candidate. Because of this, Biden does not have to release the delegates before the convention. It also means that Vice President Kamala Harris does not automatically get them either. She must earn the votes of the delegates, as will any others who seek the presidential nomination.
Harris has quickly gained support from several state delegations and a growing number of party leaders as she tries to secure the nomination and prevent the chaos of an open convention.
However, Harris, who was endorsed by Biden after he announced his decision to exit the race, will get to keep Biden's campaign apparatus and its $96 million war chest. Biden's campaign has already filed paperwork to change its name from Biden for President to Harris for President.
Democrats' previous plan to hold a virtual convention during the first week of August is now up in the air. The virtual convention was necessary to ensure Biden and Harris appear on the ballots in Ohio, which has a filing deadline of August 7. While lawmakers changed the deadline, the new law does not take effect until September 1. That means that if the Democrats don't formally name a nominee before the deadline, they risk a lawsuit that could potentially keep the eventual nominees off the ballot.
According to NBC News, Democratic officials hope the party can coalesce around a single candidate in the next couple of weeks, allowing them to nominate a presidential and vice presidential candidate during the virtual convention and focus on presenting a unified party message in Chicago.