Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Madeleine Halpert
- Role, BBC News
President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the US election race and announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place as the Democratic Party’s nominee.
The decision throws the party into uncharted waters, just a month before the Democratic National Convention, where its choice will be confirmed.
Is Biden still the President of the United States?
Yes, he just ended his campaign to be re-elected to the White House on November 5.
He has pledged to remain president until his successor is officially sworn in in January.
However, Mr Biden faces calls from senior Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to resign immediately.
Is Kamala Harris Now the Democratic Presidential Candidate?
There is no guarantee that Vice President Kamala Harris will simply take Mr Biden’s place as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Mr Biden was expected to be formally confirmed this summer, after winning the support of a majority of delegates in the recent primaries. Delegates are people chosen to represent their constituency at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the party’s key nominating event.
Although Mr Biden has endorsed Ms Harris to take his place as the Democratic nominee, it will be up to delegates to decide who they support.
However, she was on the same ticket as Mr. Biden, and her support makes her the most likely choice.
This situation is unprecedented in modern history. The last time a sitting US president abandoned his re-election campaign was Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1968.
Could other candidates come forward and how will the candidate be chosen?
As calls have grown in recent weeks for Mr Biden to withdraw from the race, a number of potential replacements have emerged.
Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been floated as a candidate, though she has said she would not consider running if Mr. Biden withdrew. On Sunday, minutes after Mr. Biden’s announcement, she said she would do everything she can “to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump.”
And other presumed replacements have since rallied behind Ms Harris, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is scheduled to begin on August 19. If the party fails to unite behind a single candidate, it could pave the way for an open convention for the first time in decades.
This would mean that delegates would be free to decide who to vote for among multiple candidates if they run.
Candidates would need the signatures of at least 300 delegates – no more than 50 from any one state – to have their names appear on the ballot.
There would be a first round of voting among the 3,900 pledged delegates, which include voters considered loyal to the Democratic Party.
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in this first round, further rounds of voting will take place. These rounds will include superdelegates, party leaders and elected officials, all of whom will vote until a candidate is chosen.
To win a party’s nomination, a candidate needs 1,976 delegate votes.
How does the winning candidate choose his vice president?
It’s typically a less formal process than choosing a presidential nominee, CNN reports – with the candidate’s choice usually being accepted as a running mate.
If Ms. Harris takes Mr. Biden’s place at the top of the Democratic ticket, some of the names being floated as a running mate include some of the prominent Democrats mentioned above, including Mr. Shapiro, and others like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
Her running mate would become her future vice president if she were elected.
What will happen to the money promised to Biden?
Given that Ms Harris was on the same election ticket as Mr Biden, campaign finance experts have suggested that the nearly $100m (£73m) he has raised could go directly to her if she becomes the Democrats’ nominee.
“It’s not an open question,” Dara Lindenbaum, commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, told the New York Times. “It’s very clear,” she added.
Republicans, however, have said they plan to challenge the transfer of funds, noting that Biden was not yet officially his party’s nominee when he withdrew from the race for the White House.
If the candidate turns out to be someone other than Ms. Harris, it is unclear what will happen to the funds accumulated by the Biden-Harris campaign.
