Letter signed by Walz quiets concerns about push to nominate President Biden before August

A vote on the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee won’t happen before Aug. 1, according to a letter sent by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who serves as co-chair of the Democratic National Convention’s rules committee.

The letter, which was sent to members of the rules committee Wednesday, has quieted concerns from some Democrats that the party might try to do a virtual roll call to nominate President Joe Biden in late July despite concerns post-debate about his ability to beat former President Donald Trump.

The letter, signed by Walz, said he and co-chair Leah Daughtry confirmed with the Democratic National Committee that there will be no “rushed” voting for the nomination before August, but voting will happen before the convention convenes in Chicago on Aug. 19.

At a Biden news conference in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Walz said a Friday meeting had been scheduled “for many months” but it was “never meant to be a virtual roll call.” Democrats have been planning the virtual roll call vote in the first week of August to make sure Biden meets a deadline to appear on the ballot in Ohio.

“That virtual vote won’t happen before the first of August, and we just need to get it done probably by the 15th of August to make sure those signatures on things are in the secretaries of states,” Walz said.

Walz said the timing of the party’s convention also raises potential issues in states such as Washington.

Democrats are grappling with whether the president should still be the nominee following a shaky debate performance in late June. Axios reported that House Democrats had planned to send a letter to the Democratic National Committee opposing an early virtual roll call vote to nominate Biden, but they called off their plan following Wednesday’s letter.

Biden won the needed delegates in primary elections and has pledged to stay in the race, but a growing number of donors and elected Democrats are publicly airing concerns or calling for him to step aside, including Minnesota DFL U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who is running in a swing district.

Walz’s role as a Biden campaign surrogate and chair of the Democratic Governors Association has put him at the center of conversations about what happens next.

He recently organized a meeting between Biden and Democratic governors at the White House following the debate, and he’s part of a small group of top Democrats who could help choose a nominee if Biden drops out after the August convention.

Staff writer Ryan Faircloth contributed to this report.