#  Open Convention or Harris 'Coronation'? Democrats Weigh Options After Biden Exit

     Details    Jake Johnson   ![logo](https://www.citywatchla.com//templates/ja_teline_v/images/logo.png)         July 22 2024      [  ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/July-2024/059d.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/July-2024/059d.jpg?width=1108&height=730)    ](https://www.citywatchla.com/election-2024/29249-open-convention-or-harris-coronation-democrats-weigh-options-after-biden-exit)

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 ELECTION 2024 - Vice President Kamala Harris quickly racked up endorsements from major Democratic figures—including President Joe Biden—and received the backing of [deep-pocketed party donors](https://www.ft.com/content/a2dda12b-17fe-46f7-908c-957ff5f4d642) on Sunday after the incumbent exited the 2024 contest in the face of insurmountable pressure.

But while much of the party [coalesced around the vice president](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/politics/harris-democrats-campaign-nominee-biden.html) and argued she's the obvious choice to take on Republican nominee [Donald Trump](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/donald-trump) in November, some Democrats and commentators made the case for a competitive nominating process, contending that it would strengthen the eventual candidate and avoid the appearance of an undemocratic "coronation."

Former President Barack Obama was the most prominent Democrat to hint at support for something resembling an [open convention](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-an-open-convention/), saying in a [statement](https://barackobama.medium.com/my-statement-on-president-bidens-announcement-1eb78b3ba3fc) that he has "extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges."

Prior to Biden's exit, dozens of former Democratic lawmakers endorsed an open convention, [writing in an open letter](https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000190-a8af-d266-a5f4-bfbf25880000) that the process would "energize the party and capture the imagination and interest of voters—especially younger and marginalized voters—who have been uninspired by the choices so far."

"I am for an open convention—huge media coverage leading up and during—knock the Trump campaign off kilter and off the air!" former Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), one of the letter's signatories, [wrote](https://twitter.com/RepPeterDeFazio/status/1815108325215793502) in a social media post on Sunday.

Opponents of an open convention, meanwhile, argued such a process would be chaotic, divisive, and inherently damaging to the party's prospects.

"Democrats have a choice to make: unite and win, or fight each other and lose," [said](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/politics/harris-democrats-campaign-nominee-biden.html) Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Randall Woodfin.

Rep. [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/alexandria-ocasio-cortez) (D-N.Y.) and [other progressives in Congress ](https://twitter.com/electprogress/status/1815186722390454657)also made the case for rallying behind Harris rather than leaving the door open to potential Democratic challengers and requiring Harris to win the nomination at the party's convention in Chicago next month.

"Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States. I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November," Ocasio-Cortez [wrote](https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1815179139806331043) on social media. "Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy. Let's get to work."

It's unclear whether any viable challenger would emerge should Democrats opt for an open convention, but Harris herself said after Biden dropped his reelection bid that her "intention is to earn and win this nomination."

Sen. [Joe Manchin](https://www.commondreams.org/tag/joe-manchin) of West Virginia is [reportedly considering](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/21/manchin-weighs-options-after-biden-exits-presidential-race/) re-registering as a Democrat to compete for the nomination—a bid that would be doomed to fail given that he's [reviled](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/21/manchin-weighs-options-after-biden-exits-presidential-race/) by the Democratic Party's progressive wing and much of the establishment for obstructing significant elements of Biden's legislative agenda.

(Update: Manchin [told ](https://twitter.com/costareports/status/1815349941255979232)CBS News Monday morning that he is "not going to be a candidate for president.")

NOTUS [reported](https://www.notus.org/2024-election/democratic-presidential-process-delegates-kamala-harris) Sunday that "a small group of Democratic leaders are seen as having the credibility and resources to challenge for the nomination," including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Shapiro and Newsom both endorsed Harris on Sunday.

[According to](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/politics/harris-democrats-campaign-nominee-biden.html)The New York Times, some Democrats privately "argued that a more competitive process would benefit Ms. Harris because it could dispel doubts about her political skills." Notably, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) were not among the Democratic lawmakers who endorsed Harris on Sunday.

Drop Site's Ryan Grim [observed](https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/biden-is-out-heres-the-case-for-an) Sunday that "the conventional wisdom is that an open convention is simply never going to happen, and if it does it will be a disaster for Democrats—weeks of infighting and chaos that'll drag the party down."

"But that argument is merely a mix of assumption and assertion," Grim wrote. "With a little imagination, that chaos could be turned toward the party's advantage at a time when it's desperately needed. The argument for coronating Kamala Harris doesn't consider how it would look for a party that is in the grip of a legitimacy crisis—Democratic elites were the last in the country to acknowledge Biden's frailty—to foist a new nominee on the public."

"If Kamala Harris wants the nomination, and wants it to be worth anything, she has to at least show that she fought for it and won it cleanly," he added. "And the only way to do that is at an open convention."

The Democratic National Committee's (DNC) rules panel is set to meet this week to "implement a framework to select a new nominee," as The Wall Street Journal [reported](https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/biden-drops-out-election-2024/card/dnc-rules-committee-seeks-framework-to-select-new-nominee-ufoqd3hVJJ4LJ740B6m4). The panel's co-chairs, according to the Journal, vowed the process would be "comprehensive, fair, and expeditious."

Before Biden's exit, the DNC was planning to hold a virtual roll call vote early next month to cement the incumbent president as the Democratic nominee weeks before the party's convention in Chicago.

It's [unclear](https://www.notus.org/2024-election/dnc-what-comes-next) whether the DNC plans to move ahead with a virtual vote.

"While an open convention would undoubtedly be entertaining to watch, I doubt we'll see that," [said](https://electionlawblog.org/?p=144725) Dan Tokaji, an election law expert at the University of Wisconsin Law School. "It's possible that delegates will vote to nominate Harris before the convention even begins."

*(Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams where this article was first published.)*

  - [  Previous Article **The Only Way Trump Debates “President Harris” Before Chicago Is if Biden Resigns…NOW!** ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29320:the-only-way-trump-debates-president-harris-before-chicago-is-if-biden-resigns-now&catid=401)
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