Sunday afternoon, Joe Biden dropped his quest for a second term and withdrew his name from the presidential race. He endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, for the Democratic nomination. His withdrawal from the race comes within four months of the November election, so not much time is left for the Democrats to shift gears. Technically, this is far easier, since Harris is already on the ticket. To kick her off the ticket at this late date would have made a bad situation much worse.
As I think back through our nation’s history, the only similar withdrawal I can think of is the 1968 withdrawal of incumbent Lyndon Johnon from the presidential race. But, that happened in late March four months earlier in the nomination cycle than we are currently in. To refresh your memory, President Johnson withdrew because of the situation in Vietnam to concentrate on the war, instead of politics. In a similar fashion, Biden can concentrate solely on his presidential duties for the next six months and stay out of politics.