Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race. What’s next?

Now that President Joe Biden has ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats must confront an unprecedented shift this late in an election year.

Democrats will hold their convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22. What was supposed to be a coronation for Biden is now a wide-open contest in which nearly 4,700 delegates will be responsible for choosing a new standard-bearer to challenge Republican Donald Trump in the fall.

The road ahead is neither easy nor obvious, even with Biden’s support for Harris. There are unanswered questions about logistics, money and political consequences.

Here are some answers:

Can Biden Redirect His Delegates?

Biden won all the primaries and state caucuses earlier this year, losing only the territory of American Samoa. At least 3,896 delegates had pledged to support him.

Current party rules do not allow Biden to pass them to another candidate. Politically, however, his support is likely to be influential.

What could happen at the Democratic Convention?

With Biden’s resignation, Democrats technically begin an open convention, but realistically, his support puts them in murky territory.

The immediate burden falls on Harris to consolidate support from the nearly 4,000 delegates from the states, territories and the District of Columbia, as well as the more than 700 so-called superdelegates, who include party leaders, certain elected officials and former presidents and vice presidents.

Will anyone challenge Harris?

Even before Biden announced his decision, Democrats had floated California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as possible candidates in addition to Harris. But some Democrats argued publicly, and many privately, that it would be a no-brainer to elevate the first Black and South Asian woman to the office of the presidency.

Given how important Black voters (and especially Black women) were to Biden’s nomination and his choice of Harris as his running mate, it would be risky, to say the least, for Democrats to push her aside in favor of a white candidate. Democrats were already facing historic obstacles before Biden’s withdrawal. Newsom and Whitmer, both white, and any other Democrat would also have to weigh the short- and long-term benefits of challenging Harris now against preserving goodwill for a future presidential primary.

Fair or not, though, Harris hasn’t been seen as an especially well-liked or empowered vice president either. The best-case scenario for her and Democrats is to quickly shore up support and project a united front. Democrats could even move ahead with their plans for early virtual voting, a move they had planned to ensure Biden was elected before Ohio’s general election voting deadline.

What’s happening with Biden’s campaign money?

Biden’s campaign recently reported that it had $91 million in cash on hand. Campaign committees for allied Democrats raised the total at their disposal to more than $240 million. Campaign finance experts generally agree that Harris would be able to control all of those funds, since the campaign was set up in her and Biden’s names. If Democrats nominate someone other than Harris, the party accounts could still benefit the candidate, but the Biden-Harris account would have more restrictions. For example, legal experts say it could become an independent expenditure political action committee, but not simply transfer its balance to a different candidate.

How will a Vice Presidential nomination work?

The vice presidential nomination is always put to a separate vote at a convention. In routine years, the convention ratifies the candidate’s choice. If Harris closes ranks quickly, she could name her candidate and have the delegates ratify him. In a protracted fight, however, the vice presidency could become part of a horse-trading contest, reverting to conventions of an earlier era.

Can Republicans keep Harris out of statewide races?

Any surprise during a U.S. presidential campaign is sure to produce a flurry of state and federal lawsuits in this hyperpartisan era, and some conservatives have threatened just that.

But state laws typically don’t prescribe how parties choose their presidential nominees. And some GOP figures — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey — have already worked this year to ensure that their party would not deny Democrats routine access to ballots.