The Democratic National Committee is peddling inaccurate talking points in a leaked memo that claims President Biden is the party’s “only” candidate option and “will be” its 2024 nominee — despite acknowledgments by insiders that he could be replaced.
“The only person eligible for nomination is Joe Biden. The only option for delegates is to either vote for Joe Biden or be marked present,” an internal DNC memo obtained by NBC News shows.
“Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for President.”
The memo dismisses talk of a so-called “brokered” DNC convention as a “distraction,” which hasn’t occurred since Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson won the Democratic nomination on the third ballot in 1952.
However, both Democrats and Republicans have neared a brokered process several times during their respective conventions since the mid-20th century.
Then-Sens. John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson vied for delegates’ support during the 1960 Democratic National Convention, with Kennedy narrowly winning a majority on the first ballot.
Johnson also memorably chose not to run for re-election as president in March before the November 1968 general election, leading to a tumultuous few months before delegates chose his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, to replace him.
Delegates are ordered to cast their votes on the first ballot to the candidate chosen by voters during their party’s respective primary — but in the event that a nominee isn’t chosen by a majority on that round, they may opt for other candidates.
Biden, 81, would only need 1,968 delegates pledged on his behalf to clinch the Democratic nomination — and had already collected 3,894 by the end of the primary cycle on June 8.
“The primary is over, and in every state the will of Democratic voters was clear: Joe Biden will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for President,” DNC Chair Jamie Harrison told NBC in a statement.
“Delegates are pledged to reflect voters’ sentiment, and over 99% of delegates are already pledged to Joe Biden headed into our convention.”
But if the president chooses to voluntarily suspend his re-election campaign before the convention, DNC members would help nominate a new presidential candidate.
Harrison would choose a replacement with the assistance of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, NBC reported based on DNC rules.
That candidate would then receive a vote from DNC members, a more elite cohort of party leaders, who would either accept or reject the replacement nominee.
Biden is slated to accept his party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22.
However, he will technically be placed on the party’s ballot several weeks before during a virtual roll call so he and Vice President Kamala Harris won’t be kicked off the general election ballot in the swing state of Ohio.
In the event that Biden stands aside, Harris would become a natural choice for the Democratic Party given that she is the only candidate who could make use of a $240 million campaign war chest amassed by herself and the president.
Biden and Harris reassured campaign staff on Wednesday that they were “in this race to the end,” though the president reportedly told a close congressional ally that he may drop out if the campaign doesn’t regain ground in the coming days.
Reps for the DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
