Scoop: Some DNC delegates want more time before nominating Biden
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Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa speaks at a rally in 2021. Photo: Sergio Flores/Getty Images
Delegates to the Democratic National Convention are pleading for as much time as possible to decide whether President Biden should lead their ticket, delegates and state party officials told Axios.
Why it matters: The delegates are still in the dark about when they are required to hold their "virtual roll calls" to nominate their presidential candidate.
- Democrats — from lawmakers facing re-election to rank-and-file activists who make the party run — are still spooked by Biden's jarring debate performance last week. They want time and options in case Biden steps aside or is forced out by donors or lawmakers.
In late May, the Democratic National Committee announced plans to nominate its ticket via virtual roll calls of delegates weeks before the party's convention in Chicago, which starts Aug. 19.
- Officials have said the roll call needs to happen before Aug. 7, which had been the deadline to get on the ballot in Ohio.
- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has since signed legislation to move the deadline to Aug. 23, but Democrats claim they are skeptical that it will hold, citing Ohio Republican "shenanigans."
- Biden is insistent that he's not dropping out, telling his team Wednesday, "I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out."
What they're saying: "We need as much time as possible," a party delegate from the Northeast told Axios. "There's no way we can make a decision in two or three weeks."
- "We are still waiting to hear what Biden is going to do," Gilberto Hinojosa, chair of the Texas Democratic Party, told Axios.
- "We have to feel that we can win this election. Our national Democratic leadership has to make a decision on what is ultimately the best for America — and this world."
Between the lines: Biden's romp through the primary states would make replacing him difficult unless Biden agreed to release his delegates.
- "The primary is over, and in every state the will of Democratic voters was clear: Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party's nominee for president," DNC chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement.
- "Delegates are pledged to reflect voters' sentiment, and over 99% of delegates are already pledged to Joe Biden headed into our convention," he added.
What we're hearing: The DNC will not hold the virtual roll calls until after the convention's rules committee meets on July 19 and the credentials committee meets on July 21.
- That would mean the delegate voting could happen between the last week of July and the first few days of August.
- But if Biden drops out and the process is blown open, delegates will want as much time as possible to make a decision. Some are interested in an old-school floor vote.
By the numbers: In the Democratic Party, any candidate would need a simple majority of the party's roughly 3,937 pledged delegates on the first ballot to become the party's presidential nominee.
- By winning state primaries and caucuses, Biden reached the magic number in mid-March.
- But if Biden were to release his delegates — or if they break their pledges to support him — the nomination process would get more interesting.
- If a candidate doesn't win the nomination in the first round of balloting, an additional 739 "superdelegates" get to vote. That group includes elected officials and other party luminaries.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Ohio's governor has signed legislation into law that changes the states ballot deadline to Aug. 23.
