Kansas, Missouri control about 3% of the vote for Democratic nomination. Here’s why
With less than one month to go before the Democratic National Convention, where the party usually takes the largely ceremonial step of certifying its presidential nomination, recent news from President Joe Biden has turned the tables.
Biden announced Sunday that he will not be seeking reelection after all, dropping out of the race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris less than four months before the presidential election in November.
So the selection of Biden’s replacement as the Democratic candidate will come down to a vote (or votes) of the delegates chosen for the convention, most of whom were expected to back Biden but could now theoretically vote for anyone.
With the outcome suddenly in doubt, exactly how much power do Kansas and Missouri hold in this process? Together, the states control about 2.8% of the vote.
On Monday, the Kansas Democrats announced that their delegation was backing Harris, and the Missouri arm of the party said the delegates allocated to Biden now planned to vote for Harris.
But exactly how much power do the states hold in this process?
The Democratic Party bylaws say the number of delegates allocated to every state is determined by a formula that gives “equal weight to population … and to the Democratic vote in elections for the office of President.”
The total number of delegates at the convention across all states is 3,939. State representation ranges from 11 delegates representing territories like American Samoa and 495 in California.
Kansas: 39 delegates
Kansas is sending 39 delegates to the convention in August. The state’s Democratic Party selected its delegates in May, which include elected officials, party leaders and Democratic volunteers.
Among nearly 4,000 total delegates, the state’s voice in the Democratic nominating process accounts for just under 1%.
That roughly aligns with Kansas’ relative population, which was about 0.9% in the 2020 Census, and the number of Kansans who supported Joe Biden in 2020, about 0.7% of the president’s total vote.
Kansas will have more say in the process to elect the final presidential winner: The Sunflower State controls six votes in the 270-member Electoral College, or 2.2%.
Missouri: 70 delegates
Missouri is represented at the DNC by 70 people who will help select the Democratic nominee, representing about 1.7% of the full convention.
That’s just slightly lower than Missouri’s percent of the U.S. population, around 1.9% in 2020 U.S. Census, and slightly above the portion of Joe Biden’s total popular vote in the 2020 election, around 1.5%.
When it comes to the general election, Missouri will have more of a voice, with 10 votes in the Electoral College, or 3.7%.
Who are delegates obligated to vote for?
Biden won both states’ presidential preference primaries in the spring, with 84% of Kansas’ Democratic vote and 85% of Missouri’s. So traditionally, the majority of the states’ delegations would be expected to back him.
But it’s important to note that even if Biden was still in the race, delegates are not required to select the candidate who won the state’s vote.
The Democratic Party Delegate Selection Plan states that all delegates should cast their vote to “reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”
The Democratic National Convention is Aug. 19 to 22 in Chicago.
This story was originally published July 23, 2024 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Kansas, Missouri control about 3% of the vote for Democratic nomination. Here’s why."
