The current president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Sunday that he is withdrawing from the race for the White House.
The president has stated in a statement published on the social network X that he believes “it is in the best interest of my party and the country that I step back and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”
He has also offered his support for a possible candidacy of his vice president, Kamala Harris.
"Today I want to offer all my support and backing for Kamala to be our party's candidate this year. Democrats: it's time to unite and beat Trump. Let's do it," Biden stated in another message to Americans and the international community.
However, although this support helps Kamala to finally become the Democratic Party's candidate for the elections on November 5, the first female vice president of the United States still has to go through other processes, including the possibility of not being nominated to the detriment of other potential candidates.
While it is true that she tops the list of likely substitutes, as she is the most well-known in the U.S. national arena and, in a possible contest, could continue with the campaign funds that Biden has by being on the ballot with him, other names are also being mentioned in the Democratic lobby.
Among them are the governors of California, Gavin Newsom; of Illinois, J. B. Pritzker; of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer; of Colorado, Jared Polis; and of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro.
Newson has significant numbers in electoral contests. According to a tally from ABC, the Democrat has not lost any election since his early years as mayor of San Francisco, a position he held from 2004 to 2011.
He arrived at the position at the age of 36, becoming the youngest in office with a clear 72% of the votes. He has been in state politics for 20 years and, in addition to being governor, he was also the lieutenant governor.
He expressed that Biden “will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents.”
Whitmer, for her part, is favored by the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party. In a statement after learning about Biden's withdrawal, she said: "My job in this election will remain the same: to do everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump."
The forecasts also mention other names, although with less resonance. Some mentions include Senator Bernie Sanders, a year older than Biden; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Senators Cory Booker from New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota also find their place in this debate.
Replacing a presidential candidate in the middle of a campaign seemed like a Herculean task and unprecedented in modern American history. However, the pressure on Biden and his team yielded results.
The uncertainty generated by his performance in the debate against Donald Trump, officially the candidate for the Republican Party, led to reflection on the viability of his candidacy and the possible alternatives the party should consider.
However, it is ultimately the party delegates who are in charge of deciding the new candidate.
In that scenario, Biden could seek to tip the scales in favor of one candidate or another - as he has done with Kamala Harris - by asking for their vote, since the delegates were appointed based on their loyalty to him.
However, they are not required to follow Biden's guidelines when choosing a successor. In this scenario, with no clear candidate, Democrats will vote in the "open" convention for their favorite, a procedure that has not occurred since 1968.
To the Democratic National Convention, which begins on August 19, there are two possible scenarios: one alternative is the already agreed-upon candidate, which would make the meeting a mere procedure. The other is with several possible successors, which will require a vote that won't conclude until a majority is reached and Biden's replacement is designated.
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