Pressure is mounting on U.S. President Joe Biden from the Democratic Party to withdraw from the presidential race for the upcoming November elections following his disastrous performance in a debate against rival Donald Trump. According to Axios, four Democratic committee chairs in the House of Representatives (Jerry Nadler, Joe Morelle, Adam Smith, and Mark Takano) stated during a phone call with minority leader Hakeem Jeffries that President Biden should end his 2024 candidacy. One senior Democratic lawmaker said, "People are upset and believe he should step down." Another noted that "most concerns relate to swing states and the most vulnerable seats," adding, "It was about how to win the presidency and the House and the Senate... there was a lot of concern that if we continued down this path, we could face problems regaining the majority." Additionally, Axios reported that Senate Democrats would not meet today, Monday, to discuss their support for President Biden's continued re-election efforts, despite Senator Mark Warner's efforts to organize such a meeting.
From within Biden's party to the media, editorial boards of both the "New York Times" and "Wall Street Journal" called for Biden to exit the presidential race. The "New York Times" editorial demanded replacing Biden with a younger and more vibrant candidate who could defeat Trump and prevent his return to the White House for another four years. Meanwhile, the "Wall Street Journal" emphasized that Biden should withdraw after seeing him appear weak and stammering, struggling to organize his thoughts, which could harm America's image and interests.
**Will Kamala Harris be Biden's Replacement?**
Biden's Vice President, Kamala Harris, has become a major concern for Republican donors, as many prominent figures within the Democratic Party begin to rally behind her. Prominent Democrats believe Harris would be the natural successor to Biden if he chose to withdraw from the presidential race. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham confirmed that Democrats might replace Biden with his vice president Kamala Harris in the race for the White House, describing her as "very active in the campaign." Recent polls suggest that Harris might perform better than Biden against Trump. In a CNN poll, Trump led Biden by six percentage points, receiving 49 percent to Biden's 43 percent. In contrast, Trump led Harris by only two percentage points, 47 percent to 45 percent, a difference within the margin of error.
**Three Options for Biden: What Are They?**
**Option One: Biden Stays**
Biden has benefitted from public support statements from major party leaders such as former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Congressman James Clyburn, along with Democratic governors like Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer. This scenario is bolstered by Biden facing no competition in the primary races, securing 3,900 out of 4,000 delegates, nearly 99%. This option hinges on the belief that any alternative would harm the party and its cohesion amid the fragile unity between progressive and traditional factions, which has been revealed by their conflicting stances regarding Israeli aggression in Gaza.
**Option Two: Voluntary Withdrawal**
This scenario assumes Biden decides to retire voluntarily. Here, the party's task would theoretically be procedurally easy in finding another candidate for the presidential race. Biden's voluntary withdrawal would leave the Democratic Party conference open to voting on other potential candidates until one garners a majority of delegate votes. However, this could ignite fierce competition among Democrats vying for the nomination. Senior party officials fear widespread chaos if Biden vacates the field for an open competition among multiple candidates.
**Option Three: A Coup Against Biden**
This scenario involves forcing Biden into an involuntary withdrawal, a less logical scenario. No party has ever tried to nominate someone other than the candidate with the majority of delegate votes, and there doesn't appear to be a trend in this direction yet. There is no evidence that the party would consider a change without Biden's approval. However, even if this were to occur, there would be no mechanism to replace a candidate before the convention, and there is no way to appoint a chosen successor. This scenario is expected to occur only if large segments of the Democratic Party lose confidence in Biden, theoretically leading delegates to the national convention to break away collectively.
It is noted that if Biden steps down during his presidency, Harris assumes the presidency. However, the same rules do not apply if Biden withdraws as a candidate for the November election; there is no mechanism that would grant the vice president an advantage in an open convention, as she would need to compete just like any other candidate seeking the party's presidential nomination and must win a majority of delegates, just like any other candidate.
