Biden drops bid for 2nd term — what happens next?

As expected, President Joe Biden announced Sunday afternoon that while he would not resign from office, he would drop his bid for another term in the White House.

"I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," his announcement read in part.

Should the delegates choose someone other than Harris, they will have a major messaging problem on their hands. ... If the party delegates decide to pass on Harris, Democrat leaders will have a tough time explaining the decision to override the will of their own voters.

The initial statement made no mention of endorsing a candidate, but a subsequent social media post from Biden revealed he has thrown his support behind his second in command, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden's "full support and endorsement" of Harris puts her in the driver's seat for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2024 election, and many Democrats are likely to support the only female and just the second black official ever to become president or vice president.

Still, her nomination is not necessarily a lock. For one thing, polling indicates that she would fare worse than Biden in a head-to-head matchup with former President Donald Trump. In a statement about Biden's withdrawal, Trump said he believes Harris "will be even easier to beat."

Other names mentioned as possible replacements for Biden include Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, both of whom have previously stated they are not interested in running for president or vice president this election season.

Should the delegates choose someone other than Harris, they will have a major messaging problem on their hands. In the past several months, more than 14 million Americans cast a primary vote for the Biden-Harris team. If the party delegates decide to pass on Harris, Democrat leaders will have a tough time explaining the decision to override the will of their own voters.

To date, more than 4,000 Democratic delegates are already pledged to Biden. With Biden out of the race, the delegates are free to support another candidate of their choice.

The Democratic Party had already promised to hold a "virtual roll call" in early August ahead of the Democratic National Convention. Should no one win a majority of those delegate votes, the 700 so-called superdelegates may then join the fray.

Democrats will have to coalesce around a candidate soon. Their convention, the event during which candidates are formally certified, begins Aug.19.

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