Biden withdrawal returns nominee pick to convention

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President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race – and to endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris, to lead the new ticket – has raised questions about the process of selecting a new nominee. But it’s not uncharted territory.

In fact, as Philip Klinkner, a professor of government at Hamilton College, explains, there’s a long history of political parties picking presidential candidates without much input from the wider public. That history is, in fact, much longer than the practice of having regular voters weigh in through primaries and caucuses.

The current system has only existed since 1972, Klinkner writes. And it picked some real winners, like Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. It picked some less-great candidates, too, though – including George McGovern.

The previous system, with selections made at the convention, also picked some winners – like Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. And it picked some people you’ve probably never heard of, like Horatio Seymour.

The bottom line, Klinkner explains, is that the method of picking a nominee bears little connection to that person’s quality as a candidate, likelihood of winning – or potential success as a president.

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Jeff Inglis

Politics + Society Editor

President Joe Biden at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 11, 2024 in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Until 1968, presidential candidates were picked by party conventions – a process revived by Biden’s withdrawal from race

Philip Klinkner, Hamilton College

With President Joe Biden out of the presidential race, the Democratic Party will have to find another nominee. Past methods of choosing have had their flaws, but also their successes.

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