What does Biden dropping out of the race mean for delegates at the upcoming DNC?

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- President Biden is stepping away from his campaign for a second term just weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

On Sunday, July 21, President Biden made the statement that he would be focusing on the remainder of his term. He later made a statement that he will endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison had a message: There would be no automatic coronation for his replacement.

“In the coming days, the party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward,” Harrison said in a statement. “This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people."

There is no system for Biden to appoint someone to take his place as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Political experts across the country are now saying the coming weeks and months could be confusing for the party. 

UW-Milwaukee Professor Emeritus Mordecai Lee says delegates from all 50 states will need to meet with each other and determine what's next. He said it could be a competitive time for another candidate to try to come in and challenge the vice president. 

“For those states, I suspect that the challengers to Harris are going to be dialing for dollars," Lee said. "They are going to be dialing every delegate trying to recruit them or at least ask them to stay neutral or uncommitted for a while."

In order to secure the nomination, a candidate would need to get a majority of the delegation votes. If a candidate does not get that, then there would be an open convention in which the delegates act as free agents and negotiate with the party leadership to pick a nominee.

Lee says each state's delegation will need to go by their own state laws to determine what the upcoming steps are. 

“The name of the game is unity and moving with a sense of urgency as quickly as possible," said Nadiyah Johnson, a Wisconsin delegate.

“We’re going to come out of this convention united with a nominee that is going to really talk about what the future of this country is going to look like," said Alex Lasry, a Wisconsin delegate and a former US Senate candidate. 

Lee said the last time the Democrats had an open convention was during the 1968 election amid heated arguments surrounding the Vietnam War.