Implications of Biden’s Presidential Race Exit: Analysis

Diverse reactions unfold following Biden's drop out from the presidential race.

The latest decision by U.S president Joe Biden to pull out of the 2024 Presidential Race is fueling all manner of reactions as the Democratic Party swings into action to ensure this move does not offset campaign efforts and their chances at the polls. First, the Democratic Party has to choose a presumptive nominee. That traditionally happens at the Democratic National Convention, which takes place Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.

Democrats had earlier planned to hold a “virtual” roll call to secure a nominee before then, though it is yet early to say how exactly they will proceed after Biden’s announcement. Once the Democratic nominee is secured, each campaign must agree to the terms and rules for both a presidential and vice presidential debate in order to proceed with scheduling a date and time for a debate.

The general election takes place on November 5, with early voting and mail-in voting options varying from state to state. Many states send out mail-in ballots weeks in advance. Elsewhere, Republicans wasted little time reacting to the news that President Biden has decided to withdraw from the 2024 race.

Presidential nominee for the Republican Party, Donald Trump took to his Social Media Platform Social Truth to react to Biden’s exit. He said,” Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was!” House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana: “At this unprecedented juncture in American history, we must be clear about what just happened. The Democrat Party forced the Democrat nominee off the ballot, just over 100 days before the election. Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe Biden,” he wrote in a post on X.

There is also the immediate question of what is happening to the Biden-Harris campaign funds now. What happens to that money now that Biden has taken himself off the ticket? The Biden-Harris campaign has raised hundreds of millions of dollars. In June alone, the team announced an inflow of $127 million and had plans to raise and spend around $2 billion throughout the entire presidential campaign.

With Kamala Harris’ endorsement, if she does secure the party’s nomination she would have access to all the funds raised for the presidential Campaign. If however, she does not secure the ticket and the Democratic Party chooses another candidate but still keep Harris on as the VP, it could complicate matters.

In this case, the Federal Election Commission would ultimately make the final call as to whether they could use it or have to start over. There will be more clarity in the coming days as to what this means for the Democrats and the Republican Party.