They are lawyers and school committee members, labor activists and religious leaders, lifelong Democrats and party newbies. Some have just turned 18 and others are approaching 80.
These are the people who make up the 3,939 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Some are elected, some are selected. Each state’s party has its own rules, and they are selected for a typically ceremonial task: nominating a candidate for president.
But in the (still unlikely) scenario of President Biden withdrawing his nominee, they would suddenly be burdened with the responsibility of selecting a new nominee.
Most of these delegates weren’t trying to become Democratic kingmakers but to join Biden’s allies pledging their support to the president. But if Biden drops out, they will vault themselves from obscurity, extras in a quadrennial TV extravaganza, to a group that could decide the fate of the party and, in the eyes of many Democrats, the future of the country.
Many are steadfast in their loyalty to the president, who has vowed to stay in the race, unwilling to even consider it as an option — and some are overwhelmed by the possibility.
Phil Swanhorst, the Democratic chairman for Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, and a first-time delegate, said he didn’t want to discuss what he would do as a free delegate once he’s freed from his pledged status “because of the ongoing confusion.” Instead, he said he would follow the direction of state party chairman Ben Wikler.
Ronald Martin, a social studies teacher and member of the teachers union, the National Education Association, is a wholehearted supporter of the president and dismissed Biden’s debate performance, echoing the president’s words, as simply a “bad night” and symbolic of nothing else. But with a decision to make if Biden pulls out, Martin said he would take a step back and evaluate the candidates as a whole rather than immediately voting for a replacement.
“Whatever President Biden says, I respect his decision, but again, I’ll listen to everything,” Martin said, adding that his goal remains to defeat former President Donald J. Trump.
Biden made it clear in a speech in Wisconsin on Friday, and in an interview with ABC News that aired later that day, that he had no intention of backing down. “I’m going to continue this campaign,” Biden told the Wisconsin crowd, which drew cheers. “I’m not going to let three and a half years of hard work go to waste on one 90-minute debate.”
Nearly all delegates – about 99% – have pledged their support to Biden, reflecting the results of the popular vote in each state’s primary. Delegates are not free to support another candidate unless Biden withdraws. The rules include a so-called conscience clause that allows delegates to break with their delegation, but it is rarely exercised.
“This isn’t 2016 or 2008, when the delegation was divided,” said Donna Brazile, a former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. “This is Biden’s convention.”
There are also about 700 “automatic delegates” (previously known as superdelegates) who are chosen based on their role in the party. State governors, senators, representatives, state party chairs, and other high-ranking party officials make up this group, but they do not vote in the first round of nominations.
The Democratic National Party has not released its final delegate list, but a review of delegate lists released by state parties shows that they are, per party rules, diverse lists of candidates.
Take Wisconsin’s delegation, for example: its 95-person membership includes more than 20 local government officials, 11 current and former educators, nine union leaders, six college students and a former Milwaukee Bucks executive.
One local government official, Trevor Jean, transportation director for the city of Racine, Wisconsin, said he has been involved in politics since he was 12, when his single father would drop him off at the local Democratic Party headquarters. A first-time delegate in 2020, Jean can’t imagine a campaign without Biden at the top and isn’t sure what he would do if there was an open convention.
“I don’t really think about it, and that’s because I think President Biden is going to be our nominee,” he said. “President Biden had a terrible night, and President Donald Trump had a terrible presidency.”
Amado Rivera Wagner, chief of staff to the mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Biden’s second delegate, recalled receiving death threats in 2020 because people believed Biden had rigged the election.
“There’s certainly confusion, but the convention seems pretty clear to me,” Rivera-Wagner said, adding that Biden has the best chance of standing up to Trump. He doesn’t expect Biden to step down, but if he does, he said he’ll “act according to his conscience, but I’ll follow the Democratic Party’s proposal.”
Most state delegations have many members who have served at previous conventions: Judy Mount, first vice chair of the Florida Democratic Party and “the first African-American in Florida since Ponce de Leon took office,” has served at every convention since Barack Obama’s first in 2008.
She said she was a staunch supporter of Biden and would follow his lead if he were to withdraw.
“I just want him to make that announcement,” said Mount, 64. “Because I have the utmost respect for that young man.”
L. Janet Mobley, a Washington, D.C., representative who also represented Obama in 2008, has similarly pledged loyalty to Biden, downplaying his debate performance, saying Biden has “accomplished more in his first three years in office than most presidents.”
If Biden were to withdraw, she said she would follow his recommendation.
“If the president decides to withdraw, I would probably issue a letter of recommendation,” Mobley said, adding of Vice President Kamala Harris: “Kamala would probably be the best candidate for president. She’s very qualified, don’t get me wrong. But I have real concerns about whether America is ready for a woman president.”
Mobley said that if Harris “picked somebody else like Newsom or Shapiro, we’d still be guaranteed the election,” referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Dave Jacobson, a Florida representative who is a year younger than Biden, called last Thursday’s debate “disastrous” but remains staunchly in his support, encouraged by the president’s more energetic rally the next day. Like Mobley, Jacobson said that if Biden’s withdrawal forces him to vote for another candidate, “the vice president would be the logical choice.”
“It would be a tragedy if Joe were to withdraw and Kamala were not selected as the nominee,” Jacobson said. “If she is not selected as the nominee, it would be a pretty devastating blow to the Democratic Party in the November 5th election.”
June Kim, Eli Murray, Andrew Park, Helmut Rosales, Elena Xiao and Amy Schonfeld Walker Contributed report. Alain Delaquerière contributed to the research.
