What is an open convention? The nuclear option Democrats could take to replace Biden

President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance in Atlanta last month has opened the door in many Democratic minds that the best option might be to find a new nominee during an open convention.

But Biden has so far resolutely refused to even entertain the idea of stepping aside, challenging any possible candidates to take him on at the convention during a recent fiery interview on MSNBC. The White House and the Biden campaign are now scrambling to reassure voters, elected Democrats, donors, and activists that the president is up to the job for another four years.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Democratic members of Congress have publicly called on Biden to step aside and someSenate Democrats reportedly believe that the party needs a new nominee. So how would that actually happen?

Candidates win delegates during the primary season based on how they fare in primaries and caucuses on the state level.

The delegates will then vote at the convention until a candidate wins the nomination, with the votes of 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination. Biden has earned nearly 4,000 delegates as he faced little opposition.

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

While conventions more recently have been closer to coronations for the primary winner, they used to be the moment that a nominee was chosen. An open convention would mean that the primary process is now moot, and it becomes a contest to bring the most delegates to a candidate’s side.

The rules say that “delegates elected to the national convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”

If Biden were to