The Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that would-be presidential nominees have until Sunday at 6 p.m. to declare their candidacy.
So far, only Vice President Kamala Harris has put her hat in the ring to seek the nomination in the aftermath of Sunday’s announcement that President Joe Biden would not seek a second term.
The Associated Press reported that the new plan and deadline was approved by the Democratic National Convention rules committee via an online meeting in a 157-3 vote.
In addition to the Sunday deadline to declare their candidacy, Harris and other potential Democratic candidates must secure 300 electronic signatures from convention delegates, not more than 50 from the same state, by the evening of Tuesday, July 30.
“If multiple candidates qualify, it could spark multiple rounds of voting over several days. But, if Harris is the only candidate, voting would begin Aug. 1,” the AP noted.
If delegates do not wish to vote for Harris, they can vote “uncommitted” or for another candidate who hasn’t qualified under the rules, but in that case, their vote will be counted as “present.”
A survey of delegates conducted by the AP found that Harris has more than the 1,976 delegates she will need to secure the nomination on the first ballot.
However, she will then have a tight window to choose a running mate before Aug. 7, when Democrats want to have their ticket set to avoid running afoul of Ohio election law.
Ohio did have an Aug. 7 deadline for candidates to be submitted to appear on November’s ballot. The state legislature has since voted to change the deadline, but the new law does not take effect until Sept. 1.
The DNC wants to avoid any legal challenges by complying with the Aug. 7 deadline currently in place.
Politico reported the new Democratic timeline could push Harris to announce her running mate by the middle of next week.
Names that have been mentioned include politicians from key swing states such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project said the DNC’s announced timeline is a “complete and total victory” for conservatives.
COMPLETE AND TOTAL VICTORY
The @DNC has backed down due to our litigation threats
They betrayed democracy and hid the highly unpopular @KamalaHarris from voters instead of facing us in court
They are now stuck with her https://t.co/TXTpB1ASrY
— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) July 25, 2024
“The [DNC] has backed down due to our litigation threats,” the group asserted.
“They are now stuck with [Kamala Harris]” as their candidate.
The Democratic National Convention is slated to start Aug. 19 in Chicago.
