WASHINGTON — As President Joe BidenAs the Democratic National Committee campaign tries to calm nervous Democrats, the Democratic National Committee is issuing talking points that some sources say misleadingly suggest there is no procedural way to replace the president at the top of the party ticket — without laying out a path forward if he were to step down.
“Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president,” the talking points read, according to a copy provided by a source who received them. “Any other discussion is a distraction and ‘mediated’ conventions are a thing of the past.”
They further state that “the only person eligible to be nominated is Joe Biden.”
Biden has been adamant that he will stay in the race, and the “DNC Talking Points for Convention Nomination Rules” circulating within the party are largely correct — until the end of the party convention in August.
But as the party’s rules stand now, according to three people familiar with the rules and the 2022 DNC document outlining convention procedures, there is a process in place to replace Biden if he voluntarily decides to step down after the Aug. 22 convention.
Under the existing rule, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison would appoint a new nominee, in consultation with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Democratic Governors Association Chairman Tim Walz of Minnesota. Their choice would then be put to the DNC membership — a group of party leaders that is much smaller and more elite than the convention delegates — for ratification or rejection.
His nomination is expected to come sooner, in a virtual roll call of state delegations in late July or early August. A date for that is expected to be set by the convention’s rules committee at a meeting on July 19.
Biden’s campaign wants everyone to think there would be “chaos” if the president stepped aside, a person familiar with the DNC process said. “That’s why they’re not admitting there’s a rule.”
A Democratic Party operative in a state where the outcome is still uncertain called the talking points “beyond screwed.”
“This is what MAGA Republicans do, not us. DNC needs to take charge,” the person said.
“The primaries are over and in every state the will of Democratic voters was clear: Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president. Delegates have been pledged to reflect the sentiment of voters and over 99% of delegates have already committed to Joe Biden for our convention,” Harrison said in a statement.
Biden’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democrats have worried about Biden’s suitability for the top of their ticket since his dismal debate performance on Thursday, when he repeatedly struggled to make compelling arguments and often looked lost. A handful of them have called on Biden to step aside to preserve or improve their chances of defeating former President Donald Trump and winning majorities in the House and Senate.
Given the Federal Election Commission’s rules on how money can be transferred if there is a replacement candidate, the Democratic National Committee’s rules and the political implications of a fight that would jeopardize the support of Black voters and women, most Democratic insiders say it’s hard to see how anyone other than Vice President Kamala Harris could become the nominee if it’s not Biden.
Before the convention, several thousand elected representatives, almost all of whom are loyal to Biden, have the power to choose the party’s nominee.
“Because there was no primary opponent, the overwhelming majority of the elected delegates are Biden delegates … so on the first ballot he would be the nominee,” one DNC member said. But, this member said, that would change if Biden were to leave the nomination vacant after receiving it.
“In the event of that historic moment, the members of the DNC will choose the party’s nominee,” the DNC member said.
It is also still possible for the congress delegates to change the rules during the congress. This happens after the nomination via a virtual call.
“It could all make for a more orderly Congress,” if Biden is nominated via the virtual ballot and then releases his delegates before the actual convention and Harrison applies the rule.
But it could also backfire for some party members, who believe there should be an open convention.
“You could argue that you don’t want coordination at this point either, because at some point it could backfire,” the source said.
Campaign finance experts say it’s likely Biden’s campaign money could be shifted to Harris because she’s his running mate and appears as such in FEC filings. But any other candidate would likely have to raise new money for their campaign.
There are other complications to any scenario in which Biden does not emerge as the nominee: There are laws in 50 states that regulate the printing of ballots, and getting a new candidate on some of those ballots could be difficult.
And yet, Biden’s campaign and its allies are so concerned about divisions within the party that they are emphatically insisting that Biden is the only candidate who can meet the party’s demands in November.
At the same time, several leading Democrats have highlighted both names on the candidate list in recent interviews — Biden and Harris — opening the door to the idea that the vice president could be the party’s presidential nominee.
“I’m a Biden-Harris person, so there’s no getting away from that,” Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., whose support helped boost Biden’s support among Black voters in the 2020 primaries, said after the debate. “I’m for Biden-Harris. I’m going to be for Biden if Harris isn’t there, and I’m going to be for Harris if Biden isn’t there.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
