DNC chair vows 'transparent and orderly process' to choose new nominee

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison said Sunday the party would hold “a transparent and orderly process” to choose their next 2024 nominee after President Biden announced he would step aside.

Harrison said in a statement that the country owed ”President Biden an enormous debt of gratitude for the unparalleled progress he has delivered over the last four years.”

“The work that we must do now, while unprecedented, is clear. In the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Harrison said.

“This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people.”

Harrison said the party would be sharing next steps on the process soon.

Biden announced in a letter posted to social media Sunday afternoon that he would be dropping out of the 2024 race, stepping aside after weeks of pressure from fellow Democrats over his disastrous June 27 debate performance that fueled concerns about his ability to defeat former President Trump in November.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote. 

Biden later endorsed Vice President Harris as the Democratic nominee.

The whirlwind comes just one month before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and days after Republicans formally nominated Trump at their convention in Milwaukee.

The DNC had planned to hold a virtual roll call to formally nominate Biden in early August ahead of the Democratic convention, though it's unclear if Democrats will still hold the virtual roll call. 

Delegates will play an even greater role in choosing the Democratic nominee. 

Biden had 3,850 pledged delegates, however those delegates can choose whomever they want now that the president is out of the race, and candidates vying for the presidency need a minimum of 300 delegates' signatures to be considered among as a presidential candidate among the delegates.

Those "pledged" delegates will be the first to vote on a nominee, which requires a majority to choose their next candidate. However, if there's no clear majority, "superdelegates" – largely leaders of the party and lawmakers, among others – will vote in subsequent rounds until the majority of the party rallies around one person. 

Updated 4:04 p.m.