“As outlined in this plan, we have time to shorten the certification process and then hold appropriate town hall meetings to introduce our candidates,” Walters said of the plan, which she plans to distribute widely. “I think this will be an exciting opportunity to create a new narrative.”
But Biden has repeatedly said he will continue to campaign, and on Thursday said he would only step down if his advisers told him he had “no chance of winning.”
Walters served as governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995 and served on the Democratic Party’s Rules Committee in 2008. She currently serves on the Democratic National Committee, a committee of about 45 people representing Midwestern states who run the party’s broad range of affairs.
He said he drafted the plan with another Democratic National Committee member, James Zogby, who on July 2 introduced a similar proposal for a mini-primary that was ultimately decided by a delegate vote at the convention.
Both Walters and Zogby say Biden cannot win the general election and should step aside. Biden must decide for himself what to do next, and this plan would not force him into retirement, they say.
“I don’t think Joe Biden has a path to victory anymore, so he’s not the person to be in charge of the nomination if we want to win the election,” Walters said.
“This is entirely his choice, but it won’t last much longer because little by little, …
“The primaries are over and the will of Democratic voters in every state is clear: Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee for president,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “Delegates are pledged to reflect the sentiment of their constituents, and already more than 99 percent of delegates have pledged to support Joe Biden heading into the convention.”
The Democratic National Committee’s rules committee is scheduled to meet on Friday to hand out ballots to convention delegates, giving them the option to support Biden or abstain, according to people familiar with the planning. The committee is expected to set a voting date by early August, with a virtual meeting of convention delegates scheduled to take place a few weeks before the convention when Biden will officially be the nominee.
“I’d be surprised if they continued down that path,” Walters said. Zogby argued that even if that vote was decided, the Rules Committee could change course if Biden announced he would not be the nominee.
Others have pointed out that members of the Democratic National Committee have the power to nominate a new candidate even after Biden is nominated. He will retreat or become powerless.
Democratic strategists have privately argued in recent days that “the sooner the better” if Biden were to step aside to avoid convention chaos and allow time to vet a running mate. Many Democratic officials have also argued that the easiest path in that scenario would be to quickly select Harris as the new nominee, but others have argued there needs to be some process to make clear she was broadly chosen by the party.
Harris is already on the shortlist and can directly take over the finances and running of the Biden campaign, but the other candidates will have to scramble to set up new operational structures.
Zogby said he has been in contact with about 15 members of the Democratic National Committee who support his earlier plan for a quick and open nomination process for Biden’s successor. Under Walters and Zogby’s new proposal, the convention rules committee would announce a new process once Biden leaves office.
Candidates have 10 days to secure the endorsements of 40 of the roughly 450 Democratic National Committee members, most of whom are selected by state parties.
“[T]”The 40 nominations must include at least seven DNC members from each of the DNC’s four geographic regions,” Walters’ proposal states.
Another 10-day period will follow, during which the national party will organize televised rallies for the approved candidates to appeal to the convention’s approximately 4,672 delegates. This group includes some of the party’s top brass, or superdelegates, who are barred from casting nominating votes on the first ballot.
“Because a majority of the delegates is required to win the nomination, it is likely that multiple rounds of voting will be necessary,” the document states. “The excitement generated by this process and the attention it will bring are likely to provide a significant boost to the eventual candidate.”
