SEATTLE — President Joe Biden is not the first incumbent president to have dropped out of a re-election race. However, for one to drop out this late in the process is unprecedented.
So how does this affect the nation's democratic process?
Political leaders in Washington told KING 5 Sunday that voter engagement will be critical in the months ahead, especially to ensure fairness in the election process.
Even Republicans are unsure whether November's General Election can be a fair fight in this timeframe.
"To sort of take those votes, and then shift at a very late in the process point is kind of a bait and switch," said Jim Walsh, Washington State Republican Party Chair. "I don't think it's democratic."
A crunched campaign lies ahead for the Democratic party, and whoever is their pick to replace Biden will have their work cut out for them.
Now just over 100 days away from the General Election, encouraging voter turnout will be a goal for Democrats. First-time voters, for example, can be among those marginalized and therefore tricky to mobilize to the polls.
"People just kinda go off what they hear on like Tiktok, and stuff like that," said Lucy Palmquist, a high school student we heard from on Sunday. Of her age group, she said, "Nobody really, like, understands that much about it, so they don't really care too much about it."
Washington State Democrats Chair Shasti Conrad told KING 5 Sunday she is aware of the importance of enthusiasm at the polls, and the Democratic nominee's campaign time crunch.
"We need to quickly get together and build this coalition to make sure that we are that we really, truly, truly win," Conrad said.
Meanwhile, Walsh said he thinks the Dems' scramble could benefit Republicans in local and statewide races, like the one for governor.
"Certainly, it's going to occupy the time and the energy of Democrats here in Washington... it'll drain energy and time and potentially money from those," Walsh said.
But Conrad is hopeful the switch-up works to Democrats' advantage, up and down the ticket.
"I think that we have a revitalized energy to get the job done," Conrad said.
Civic engagement and information surrounding Sunday's announcement will be followed closely by experts.
UW's Center for an Informed Public assembled its Election Rumor Research Team Sunday afternoon to start understanding what is taking shape on social media in the wake of Biden's announcement.
The center said they will likely release an analysis of their findings on Monday or Tuesday.