After a less-than-stellar debate performance in June [1]BBC News: Analysis: Biden’s incoherent debate performance heightens fears over his age and a bout of COVID in mid-July[2]CBS News: Biden tests positive for COVID. Here are details about his diagnosis and treatment a lot of donors began pulling money from Biden’s campaign and many were questioning the Democratic Presidential candidate’s ability to run an effective campaign.
On the 21st of July 2024 Joe Biden announced that he was dropping out of the Presidential Race[3]Joe Biden: Twitter – 21st July 2024. It was a historic move[4]NBC News: Inside Biden’s historic decision to drop out of the 2024 race that some had been predicting for a while but it brought into question how a new successor would be chosen and whether his departure could lead to massive in-fighting within the Democratic Party.
As of the 23rd of July, Kamala Harris (current US Vice President) received enough nominations to become the Democrat Presidential nominee[5]BBC News: Harris has enough support from delegates to be Democratic nominee meaning that there does not have to be a convoluted voting process in order to select a new candidate.
Additionally, Harris raised $81 Million in the 24 hours since Biden announced he was standing down[6]AP News: Kamala Harris smashes fundraising record with stunning $81 million haul over 24 hours[7]The New York Times: Harris Raised $81 Million in First 24 Hours as Candidate. I have seen people stating this figure is as high as $231 million but this all leads back to a single source and I cannot verify this elsewhere, but even so the $81 million raised is a massive sum in such a short period of time and it will certainly have the Trump campaign on the back foot.
Even though the nomination has been decided, I thought we should take a look at how Democrat Presidential Candidates are selected as it’s quite an interesting (and complicated) process that people outside the United States might not be aware of.
It’s certainly a lot more complicated than the way the Conservatives choose a leader (if they decide to follow protocol and have an election that is).
How The Democratic Nomination System Works
What are the stages or getting on the ballot, how do candidates win votes and what happens at the Democratic National Conference (DNC) – let’s take a look:
How A Candidate Gets Nominated For The Ballot
A candidate must formally announce that they are standing for being in the running for presidential nominee. This is usually done through a press release or public announcement or, if you’re Donald Trump, descending from on high down a gold escalator (sorry, I had to get at least one dig in, I will be unbiased now).
Each state will have their own specific filing requirements and deadlines but this usually includes the candidate paying a filing fee and supplying paperwork containing the signatures of a specified number of voters registered in the state supporting their candidacy.
How Do Candidates Receive Votes?
There are two methods in which candidates are awarded votes: Primaries and Caucuses[8]Council on Foreign Relations: The U.S. Presidential Nominating Process.
Primaries
A Primary (which is now more common in Democrat leadership races) are state-wide elections where a voters casts their vote for their preferred candidate.
A Primary can be “Open” which is where anyone in the state (irrespective of party) can vote, or “Closed” where only registered members of a party can cast a vote.
Caucuses
A Caucus is a closed gathering where designated party members decided how to assign their votes to candidates. In the case of the Democratic party, there are 9 states that use the caucus model which are [9]Wikipedia: 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries:
- American Samoa
- Iowa
- Hawaii
- Northern Marianas
- Alaska
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Guam
- Virgin Islands
Two Types Of Delegates
There are two different types of delegates: Pledged Delegates and Unpledged (also known as “Super”) Delegates[10]Factchek.org: Q&A: How Biden Can Be Replaced as the Democratic Nominee[11]USA Today: What are presidential delegates and how does the process work?[12]AP News: Winning the presidential nomination is all about delegates. But how does the process work?:
Pledged Delegates
These delegates are assigned based on the results of the primaries and caucuses. Pledged delegates are broken down into 3 further sub-categories:
- District Level: Based on votes within a congressional district
- At-Large: Based on state wide votes
- Party Leaders and Elected Officials (PLEOs): Democratic leaders and elected officials within the state. These are allocated based on state wide votes
Unpledged (Super) Delegates
These are members of the Democratic National Committee, members of Congress, Governors and certain party leaders. They are not bound by the results of the Primary or Caucus votes and can vote for whoever they want at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
How Are Votes Assigned?
Each state has a set number of delegates. These are apportioned based on a variety of factors such as the size of the population, how they’ve voted in the past and current Democratic voter base.
Each state is assigned a set number of “Base” delegates based on a formula created by the Democrat Party. States can then receive “Bonus” delegates based on a variety of factors including (but not limited to):
- When the Primary or Caucus is held – if a state holds their ballot later they may receive extra delegates
- Clustering – if states within the same region hold their ballots together this may cause them to receive extra delegates
- So called ‘Blue States’ – those that have had strong Democratic leanings in the past may also receive extra delegates
The formulas used are outside the scope of this article as they vary on a state-by-state level and what bonuses are allocated but votes are allocated via a system of “proportional representation”.
In order to move forward, a candidate must receive 15% of vote share.
As an example, let’s say a state has 100 delegate votes to make it simple:
- Candidate A gets 40% of the vote share so they receive 40 delegate votes.
- Candidate B gets 35% of the vote share so they receive 35 delegate votes.
- Candidate C gets 20% of the vote share so they receive 20 delegate votes.
- Candidate D gets 5% of the vote share but as that is under the 15% minimum they receive no delegates
The remaining 5 delegates will be distributed amongst the remaining candidates based on a proportional basis for a Primary system or by Caucus choice.
The Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is where all pledged and unpledged delegates meet to formally cast their votes.
This is can be broken down into several rounds of voting:
First Ballot
This is where the delegates cast their initial votes based on the results in their Primary or Caucus. Unpledged delegates vote for their personally preferred candidate.
In order to win, the candidate must win a majority which is simply half the number of pledged and unpledged votes plus 1.
Further Voting Rounds
If there is no one candidate with a majority then further rounds of voting takes place.
If a a candidate cannot obviously win then they will drop out (this might take place before the DNC or during the voting rounds) and then the following will happen:
- Delegates are “Explicitly” Released: If a candidate formally withdraws then they can choose to explicitly release their delegates. This means they are no longer bound by the results of the primaries
- Delegates are “Implicitly” Release: If a candidate drops out but fails to explicitly release their delegates candidates may be considered unbound from their pledge if the candidate is not actively campaigning.
- Delegates are “Automatically” Released: If a candidate fails to explicitly fails to release their candidates but drops out then the delegates are considered to be automatically released.
As an example, in 2020 when Pete Buttigieg dropped out he explicitly released his delegates and they were free to vote for another candidate. How their votes are reassigned can depend on the State that the candidate was from.
Some delegates will be told how to vote by the Democratic National Committee, some might be bound by their State’s rules and some may be asked to support a specific person by the candidate that dropped out.
In Biden’s case, he endorsed Kamala Harris and so his delegates from the Primary and Caucuses would then reassign their votes to Harris (unless there were explicit state rules stating otherwise).
This is how Harris won the required majority of delegates to become the Party Presidential Candidate before the first ballot at the DNC had taken place.
Delegates, as far as I understand, will still cast the first ballot at the DNC in August but this is now just a formality to give Harris the official nomination.
The RNC Has Threatened Legal Action – Can They Do This?
Well, yes.
And no.
The Heritage Foundation (of Project 2025 infamy) have released a memo[13]Newsweek: GOP Weighs Legal Challenge Against Joe Biden Dropping Out stating:
Three of the expected six most contested states have some potential for preelection [sic] litigation aimed at exasperating, with legitimate concerns for election integrity, the withdrawal process for a presidential candidate…
Wisconsin does not allow withdrawal for any reason besides death
Important caveats include the timeline and triggering events. For example, some states allow withdrawal before the 74th day before an election and failure to adhere to these timelines can result in the candidate’s name remaining on the ballot
The memo does go on to admit that there are 31 states that allow the political parties to make their own decisions on candidates and a legal challenge would probably fail.
Other legal experts have pointed out that state rules mean that the candidate nominated at the DNC is allowed to be on the ballot, and this may not necessarily be the name chosen at the Primary or by the Caucus[14]Independent: The bogus right-wing legal battle to keep Joe Biden on the ballot.
While any legal challenges will probably fail, they may be enough to sow seeds of doubt over the legitimacy of Harris’s candidacy and even her election win (if/when that occurs).
It’s important to note that The Heritage Foundation may be on exceptionally shaky ground by making these claims and by providing a “war chest” in order to fund legal action at a state level.
As a 501(c)(3) organisation, The Heritage Foundation is a non-profit that is not supposed to engage or take part in the backing of any political candidate which, by challenging Harris’s candidacy, they would seem to be doing so. And with Project 2025 being unashamedly pro-Republican they may have fallen foul of IRS rules[15]Lawyer Herald: Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 Faces IRS Complaints for Alleged Tax-Exempt Violations.
Final Thoughts
So will this legal challenge move forward?
It’s hard to see how it can if The Heritage Foundation wish to continue to state that they are impartial and operating properly as a 501(c)(3) organisation but it will certainly be enough red meat to rile up Trump’s MAGA base into using the perceived illegitimacy of Kamala Harris’s campaign against her.
What does matter is that Harris has the required majority of delegates to be considered the Democrat Presidential nominee and that it was achieved with no in-fighting within the party.
Couple this with the exceptional fundraising in just days after Biden announced he was stepping down then Harris is sure to be able to put together a strong campaign in order to run against Donald Trump who is already criticising “Lyin’ Kamala Harris” over on Truth Social:
Source: Donald Trump on Truth Social
Source: Donald Trump on Truth Social
Source: Donald Trump on Truth Social</a
So whatever happens, this race is going to be anything but dull.
Katy is the editor-in-chief of FlippingHeck.com a blog about Self-Improvement, Productivity and Small Business Tips. When she’s not working, she enjoys gaming, making music and Reviewing Things.
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