(NewsNation) — Democrats would need to clear several hurdles to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, following reported panic over his debate performance.
Sources told NewsNation the president has no intention of dropping out of the race, however, further complicating Democrats’ next steps.
Anxiety reportedly swept through the party following Thursday’s debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump.
The 90-minute showdown left some Democrats worried about the president’s electability and fueled concerns that at 81 years old, he might not rise to the occasion.
Do Democrats want to replace Biden?
There are growing concerns among many Democrats, who seem to fall into two different categories, NewsNation’s Joe Khalil reported.
The first category, encompassing everyone except elected members of Congress, say the debate was a clear reason to talk about whether the party should replace Biden as its nominee.
The other category, which includes some elected members of Congress, say they have concerns but suggest staying the course. According to them, Biden has a good record so far and delivered on his promises.
“It was not a good night for the president, but it’s not the end of the campaign,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
Other members of Congress say they’re “terrified” about a Trump second term. The sentiments place a clear choice in front of Biden — one he must address now, NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo said Thursday.
“He’s got to think, ‘If I really believe that Donald Trump is a danger to the American people…Do I have to step aside? Because I’m clearly not going to beat him,’” Cuomo said.
What would it take to replace Biden as nominee?
Other party leaders can’t remove Biden from the ticket. Rather, any Democrat who wants to replace the president would need to do so through an open nominating process on the Democratic National Convention floor, Politico reported, citing official convention rules.
While the convention isn’t until mid-August, the party must nominate a candidate by Aug. 7 — 40 days from now — for them to appear on the Ohio ballot. Democrats already made plans to host a virtual roll call before the convention to meet Ohio’s requirement. It would also put Biden on the ballot in all 50 states.
Biden, however, has no intention of dropping out of the 2024 race, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NewsNation.
The president’s campaign hasn’t discussed avoiding the second debate scheduled for September, either, the source confirmed.
Biden might not have the only say, however. His performance Thursday could hamper future fundraising efforts, Cuomo said.
“This is who’s going to decide,” he said Thursday. “The DNC has a group of about 30 people that raise a majority of their money and now it’s all filtered through dark money paths… There’s going to be an absolute pushback on the ability to raise money for Biden. People are going to start thinking he’s going to lose. Democrats have not thought that before tonight.”
Contributions to this article given by Kellie Meyer.