What happens next after Biden’s dramatic exit from the White House race — from $240 million war chest to convention showdown

PRESIDENT Biden’s unprecedented last-minute withdrawal from the 2024 election has left the Democratic Party reeling.

Despite repeated calls for him to resign, Biden, 81, waited until what many considered the last minute to concede defeat.

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And while many Democrats are relieved, the party has a mountain to climb before the November elections if it wants to defeat Donald Trump.

Not to mention a convention, just a few weeks away, where a candidate will have to be selected and the possible split within the ranks over who should be chosen.

Senior members of Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have already called for Biden to resign.

They say that if he is not fit to run, he is also not fit to occupy the current position of Commander-in-Chief.

The choice of Biden’s replacement, for which he supported Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, will be decided at the Democratic National Convention in August.

Although given the unusual circumstances, delegates will be able to vote virtually before the convention begins on August 19.

US law states that the approximately 3,900 of the 4,000 Democratic delegates who supported Biden must now support his top choice – Harris.

But they are technically free to vote however they want and can choose a different candidate for the party to choose.

Other prominent Democrats, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom, have been named as possible options.

Even Michelle Obama was considered a potential candidate to defeat Trump.

Brett Bruen, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, spoke to The Sun about what comes next.

Come as…

Brett told The Sun that many Democrats had “long predicted” and “expected” Biden to withdraw from the race.

He said: “I think it comes down to Biden’s physical weakness and also the weakness of his case for re-election.”

Despite Biden’s claims that he was the only viable option to defeat Trump, Brett said Harris and other Democrats could “vote better and ultimately perform better at the polls.”

He believes Kamala Harris will be nominated at the August convention: “I think without a doubt it will be Kamala Harris.”

Two reasons will drive her nomination, she tells us: “she will inherit the war chest that the Biden-Harris campaign has accumulated, and she is the vice president”.

Biden’s team raised a whopping $264 million this year and reportedly ended June with $240 million in cash to spend.

The current President could choose to leave all the money to the Democratic Party – which could then be used for the new candidate’s campaign.

But he can’t transfer it directly to the nominee, as it would have to be refunded to the original donors and then sent back to the nominee.

However, if Harris is chosen, campaign finance law means she will be able to share the funds with Biden because her name is already approved on the ticket.

Rob Flaherty, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said replacing him with someone other than Harris would mean giving up those funds entirely.

He claims they would then be heading into an election in “the weakest possible position, with zero dollars in their bank accounts.”

Brett told The Sun that about $27 million was raised in just the first few hours of Harris’ campaign.

He thinks that “there will be contributions of tens, even hundreds of millions because there was a lot of money on the sidelines.”

“To be honest, there was money from people like me who donated last time and didn’t give this time,” Brett said.

This could “erase a lot of the financial boost that Trump has had”, he told The Sun.

Trump ignored advice to select a more moderate vice president for his ticket with JD Vance, Brett tells us, and was “mega wizard.”

He thinks the former president has “created an uphill battle for himself” and could lose to Kamala in November.

Brett said: “Biden’s weakness was not being able to effectively articulate the case against Trump. While Kamala brings not just a new energy but a prosecutorial precision.

“We went through a pretty traumatic situation several weeks after the June 27th debate. And I think there is an overwhelming preference to return to normal order and support a candidate.”

If someone wants to sweep Harris and secure a spot as the Democratic nominee, they will have to get the signatures of 600 delegates.

They would then face Harris in a primary-style debate to win the majority of votes from about 4,000 party delegates.

If several different candidates secure a nomination, but none obtain a majority, a “mediated convention” will occur.

Which means delegates can vote for anyone who puts their name forward in as many rounds of voting as it takes to secure a candidate.

The last time this happened was in 1952.

Harris campaign officials have already made hundreds of appeals on Sunday to secure the support of fellow Democrats in her bid for the White House.

Sources said the calls began almost immediately after Biden’s shocking announcement.

Brett thinks that in the coming days we will see more support for Harris from prominent Democrats in the party.

He said: “Although you heard even from my old boss, President Obama, that he was not yet endorsing, I think this is more of a formality.

“What will happen in the next few days are more endorsements. I think you’ve already seen four states pledge their delegates to Harris.

“This will continue on Monday and throughout the week. There will be more Democrats coming on board.”

Brett does not think Biden should resign before the November elections and hopes Harris’ nomination can cool rising political tensions in the US.

Comparing him to Trump, Brett said: “There is, unlike the case with former President Trump, no evidence other than political propaganda to suggest that Biden is making mistakes in running the country.

“He didn’t send a mob to the Capitol. He did not try to insert himself into the Justice Department’s cases against him or his political friends.

“He deserves to serve the rest of his term. I think ultimately he will go down in history as a transitional president from what was a pretty traumatic period under Trump to hopefully return America to a place of more stability.

“I would say we are returning to less tumultuous times because now the president is stepping aside and we will see, I think, from Vice President Harris a very traditional campaign.”

But he warned: “conditions in American politics are such that they are very flammable and all it takes is a small spark to set off a major conflagration.”

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