After Biden’s exit, relieved DNC delegates gear up for Chicago convention upheaval

Joanne Chesley was just returning home from church, when she got the call from a friend informing her President Joe Biden decided to end his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Party’s nominee. 

Chesley, a pledged Biden delegate from North Carolina, had vocally supported the president’s candidacy this cycle, even as others had called into question the 81-year-old’s mental fitness. However, the 71-year-old retired college professor and teacher is applauding Biden’s decision to pass the torch to a new generation.

“I’m glad he made that decision, considering his health, his family, and how he could do what was right for the country,” she said during an interview with the Washington Examiner on Sunday. “In my heart of hearts, I knew he would make the decision that was right for us. I’m happy we can move on and get down to business and go to Chicago and have a good convention.”

Five delegates who spoke to the Washington Examiner on Sunday expressed relief, support and gratitude after Biden formally exited the race. The majority are supportive of Harris taking over the top of the Democratic ticket.

Many questions remain unanswered in the aftermath of Biden’s decision, with the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) convention in Chicago just about a month away. 

Samantha Hope Herring, a delegate and elected member of the DNC from Florida said she’s hearing from other delegates across the country who are “really excited, energized and tremendously upbeat,” about the prospect of Harris’ candidacy at the top of the ticket. She is stressing this situation is unprecedented and the DNC process moving forward is fluid.

“Informally, I think there’s an effort to get folks across the country on the same page. We have a short amount of time to get everything done,” Herring said. “I’m going to be taking an absence from anything else I’m doing and will be helping our delegation.”

Even with a different candidate at the top of the ticket, Herring does not believe that the Democratic platform at the convention will change, especially if Harris becomes the nominee for the party.

As recently as Friday, Biden vowed to return to the campaign trail next week, and his campaign had remained defiant and insisted they would be pressing ahead. The announcement of Biden’s decision caught some delegates off guard, including one who had received a call from the campaign, pushing for a commitment to Biden in the roll call.

“I had just received this phone call, maybe hours before Biden officially exited the race. This probably gives you an idea of how air tight this exit plan was,” the delegate said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Once Biden left the race, he technically surrendered the delegates he won during the primary, leaving them free to back someone else. To secure the party nomination, a candidate needs 1,976 delegate votes. Biden has already received almost 4,000. 

Over the last few days, the DNC had been adamant about plans to move forward with the process, revealing in a letter on Wednesday sent to committee members that the party planned to do so in August. The letter, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner last week, made it clear that the DNC was doubling down on its plan, and set up a deadline of Aug. 7, which was originally Ohio’s filing deadline that threatened to keep Biden off the 2024 ballot before state leaders extended the deadline. The latest update pushed back a plan to hold the digital roll call in July after internal lobbying.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty about what happens next even among the party’s leadership in states across the country.

“This is a decision for the rules committee and we will see how that conversation progresses as we learn more about how the conversation progresses as we learn more about the process going forward,” said Rita Hart, chair of the Democratic Party of Iowa, speaking on a Zoom call with reporters on Sunday.

Hart did not go as far as offer an endorsement of Harris and emphasized delegates will have an opportunity to make their open decisions at this moment, in what she called “unchartered territory.” 

“President Biden’s endorsement obviously means a great deal. His willingness to put his legacy into Kamala Harris’ hands speaks volumes,” Hart said. “That means a great deal. I am also sure that the delegates realize this is going to be their decision.”

Members of the Democratic National Committee have begun circulating a document urging delegates to support Harris as their party’s nominee, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner. Experts believe if there is a decisive choice to rally around Harris, the party could move forward with the virtual plan and arrive in Chicago with the nomination sorted.

“All indications are the party is moving forward with the virtual roll call. That included the Credentials Committee meeting today that started right when the news broke,” Josh Putnam, a political scientist who runs the site FrontloadingHQ, said Sunday. “Obviously, things are fluid and that can change, but if this is an orderly transition to Harris, then the party will stick with the virtual plan.”

David Seaton-Lorenz, a 19-year-old Democratic National Committee delegate from Massachusetts said he will support Harris if that’s the only candidate the party puts forward. However, the party could be better served by having a mini accelerated primary instead of a coronation. 

“I think if she was out on the campaign trail, trying to earn the votes of us delegates, that could help her come out even stronger.”

Some lawmakers had seemed to share a similar outlook earlier last week. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) became the second Democratic senator to call on Biden to step aside last week. The the vulnerable red-state Democrat who is up for reelection in the Senate took it a step further on Friday, making it clear he’d like to see an open nominating process at the convention in Chicago next month, declining at that time to endorse Harris, according to his office.  

In a meeting with fellow California Democrats last week, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) endorsed an open process to choose the party’s next nominee if Biden drops out, according to reporting from Politico.

Seaton-Lorenz had previously been outspoken, calling Biden’s candidacy a “death march to November.” He said he’s thankful the concerns of voters are finally being considered.

“I was certainly in favor of him dropping out of the race. I was still surprised since he had rejected those calls for such a long time,” he said. “I thank Joe Biden for making this decision, for making a decision that must have been personally very difficult for him, and I’m excited for what comes next.”