Joe Biden renounces candidacy for US President

SZ - Sächsische Zeitung Joe Biden renounces candidacy for US President 55 minutes • 3 minutes reading time US President Joe Biden does not want to run for another term. Now the Democrats must quickly find a replacement. A woman has the best chances. Washington. US President Joe Biden no longer wants to run for a second term in the November election. The Democrat announced his withdrawal from the presidential race via social media Instagram, Facebook and X. In recent weeks, the 81-year-old has come under massive pressure in his own party because of his age and mental state. (dpa) What happens now that Biden is dropping out? Biden has already won his parties' internal primaries and secured the necessary delegate votes for the nominating convention, which will take place from August 19 to 22 in Chicago, Illinois. The 81-year-old was actually supposed to be officially chosen as the presidential candidate there. After Biden's withdrawal, the delegates in Chicago are no longer bound by the outcome of the primary in their state, but are free to make their own decision. This means that the race is open to all possible top candidates from the party who could throw themselves into a lightning campaign. However, so close to the election, the Democrats are unlikely to have much interest in starting an open competition between several replacement candidates and turning the party convention into the venue for a voting drama accompanied by fierce candidate lobbying. It is more likely that they would try to rally the party behind a new top person in advance. Who is most likely to succeed? Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, is considered Biden's natural successor. There are now some indications that if Biden withdraws, he could propose Harris as his presidential candidate for the November election. The party convention delegates would by no means be bound to such a proposal. But it would be an attempt to quickly steer the process in one direction. The 59-year-old was long considered to be pale in her position and had to struggle with poor poll ratings. In view of Biden's stalemate, however, she has recently gained support, mainly for pragmatic reasons. What speaks for Harris? Harris is the first woman and the first black person to take the oath as US Vice President. Her father once immigrated from Jamaica to study economics. Her mother, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist, came from India. The Democrats would need good reasons to simply ignore Harris. In addition, she is nationally known for her role, she has already passed all the checks for the White House and she could probably access the campaign apparatus and probably also donations collected by Biden because she is already part of his re-election campaign as Vice President. However, if Harris were to move up, she would also need a vice-candidate at her side until the party convention. Are there any alternatives? In addition to Harris, the names Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer were mentioned most frequently recently. Newsom (56) is governor of the powerful state of California. He has made a name for himself nationally and has worked intensively on his political profile, most recently with well-publicized trips abroad. Whitmer (52) is governor of Michigan and has long been considered an up-and-coming force in the party. Before the 2020 election, Biden had considered her as his vice president. According to US media, both have made it clear internally that they are not available for the second row as possible vice presidents for Harris. Accelerated process? The top of the Democratic Party recently set in motion a process to make Biden the presidential candidate in a virtual vote shortly before the party convention in Chicago, probably in early August. It is unclear whether the accelerated process will remain. However, this would leave even less time to position a Biden replacement in public.