American presidential election
From the Democratic convention in Chicago at the end of August to the election in early November, here are some clues as to how the Democratic Party can nominate a new presidential candidate to campaign against Donald Trump.
For the Democratic Party, but especially for the United States, an era of great uncertainty is beginning after Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. At 81, the American president announced on Sunday, July 21, that he would not ultimately be a candidate for his own re-election in November against Donald Trump. What could the coming weeks look like?
How to find a replacement candidate?
Even if there is consensus on who will succeed him, the process of formally replacing Joe Biden is likely to be a bit technical. The president was chosen as the Democratic presidential nominee in a series of primaries held from January to June. He was, in theory, supposed to be sworn in at the party’s convention, August 19-22 in Chicago.
But with the withdrawal, the party’s delegates, 3,900 people from 51 states with a wide variety of backgrounds, are now free to choose their candidate. It is likely that the choice of the replacement candidate will be made in the first week of August, well before the convention, by a vote of these delegates.
In a memo written before Joe Biden’s withdrawal, researcher Elaine Kamarck of the Brookings Institute imagined that such an eventuality would give rise to a “a type of convention where anything goes”, each side trying to push for its candidate. A roughly comparable scenario had presented itself to Democrats on March 31, 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson publicly announced that he would not seek a second term, in the midst of the Vietnam War.
Shortly after Joe Biden’s announcement, the Democratic leader wanted to be reassuring about the candidate selection process. “In the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and disciplined process to move forward, as a united Democratic Party, with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November,” wrote in a statement Jaime Harrison, the party’s leader.
Who to replace Joe Biden?
As soon as he announced his withdrawal, Joe Biden said he supported his vice-president Kamala Harris. But there is no rule that states that the running mate automatically replaces the incumbent candidate. In the wake of Joe Biden’s disastrous debate, she was sent to put out the fire. The fifty-year-old then conceded that Joe Biden had been “slow to start” but that he had “finished strong.” Without mentioning, at any time, the possibility of replacing him.
Kamala Harris, the first woman and first African-American to serve as vice president, could also face competition from other members of the party’s young guard. Like California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is riding high among Democrats. However, the latter has said that this type of «conversations» did not do “not good for our democracy”.
The names of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro are also being bandied about.
How can the campaign take place?
Once a candidate is chosen, a major problem will remain: running a three-month express campaign to make themselves known to the more than 250 million Americans of voting age, and above all, succeeding in convincing them. Kamala Harris starts here with a certain advantage, having already been known for nearly four years as Joe Biden’s vice president. The former senator from California, who has already received the support of several elected officials, has also been crisscrossing key states for months to campaign, particularly on abortion rights – a key theme of this year’s presidential election.
Another concern is that the funds already raised by Joe Biden’s campaign will not be easily transferable to any other candidate from a legal point of view. Kamala Harris’ name is already on Joe Biden’s campaign documents, but some experts argue that control of the millions of dollars already raised could be more easily attributed to her. This is an additional argument in the Californian’s pocket to obtain the party’s nomination. However, the postulate has already been rejected on the right, and legal action would be expected in the event of a transfer of funds.
Source: www.liberation.fr
