After last month’s catastrophic debate performance and his subsequent failure to persuade members of his own party that he can defeat former president Donald Trump in the fall, an increasing number of congressional Democrats are urging Joe Biden to stop his reelection campaign.
Given that Biden is currently the clear favorite among primary voters and the Democrats’ presumed nominee, it would be a challenging procedure. There was almost any resistance to him in the primaries, and he ended up with almost all of the party’s delegates, so it’s quite improbable that anyone would try to remove him from the race without his will.
The present system of primary elections, which gives more influence to party members than to party heavy hitters, was born out of dissatisfaction with the 1968 Democratic nomination of Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Despite President Lyndon B. Johnson’s decision to withdraw from the presidential run that year due to his declining popularity and stance against the Vietnam War, Humphrey continued Johnson’s Vietnam policy during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. As Humphrey accepted the nomination, demonstrators and police battled, leading to violence.
The 2020 election would be drastically different if Biden dropped out, but the Democrats’ convention will be back in Chicago in August.
Choosing the party’s nominee on the convention floor (or, possibly, during a virtual roll call) would be necessary in the event if the front-runner withdrew from the race after the majority of primaries or even at the convention, as we originally stated in February.
That would bring the usually obscure subject of who exactly are those delegates into the limelight. The Democratic Party has set June 22 as the deadline for states to choose the 3,900 delegates that were allotted during the primary process; nearly all of these delegates are already committed to Biden.
Not only have these delegates promised to vote for Biden, but his campaign has also given their stamp of approval. Consequently, selecting a new nominee at the convention could be decided by the majority of delegates, but it would necessitate a large number of defections among the president’s own supporters. Also, if Biden were to withdraw from the campaign, his supporters would have a heavy hand in choosing his successor.
Could someone else succeed Biden?
For example, in this hypothetical situation, Vice President Kamala Harris would likely be one of the leading candidates for president. Other possible candidates, meanwhile, would have maintained they could defeat Trump with a stronger campaign.
Would a candidate such as Gavin Newsom of California, who endorsed Joe Biden without reservation during Thursday’s debate, take against Harris at the convention? Determining a successor may cause strife and unattractiveness. After much pleading, the delegates would have to cast their ballots to choose the winner.
There is an additional group to think about on the Democratic side: the “superdelegates,” or over 700 high-ranking party executives and elected leaders who are automatically delegates to the convention because of their status. They are not allowed to vote on the first ballot if their vote could sway the nomination, but they are allowed to vote on future ballots according to standard party regulations.
After the convention, what if a candidate decided to withdraw from the race?
During the summer months leading up to a party’s nomination convention and the general election in November, it would require a major event for a contender to withdraw from the race.
Republicans and Democrats approach this prospect in significantly different ways. You may think that in the end, the running mate would volunteer to be on the ballot for the general election, but that is by no means assured.
If a position on the national ticket becomes vacant following the convention, the Democratic National Committee has the authority to fill it according to party regulations, following consultations between the party chair, Democratic governors, and congressional leadership.
When a position opens up on the Republican side, the party’s national committee has the option of calling a new convention or choosing a candidate independently.
Could the running mate be nominated without any more action?
An extensive Congressional Research Service paper also states that in the event that the current president becomes incapacitated after receiving the party’s nomination, the vice president would be elevated to the presidency under the 25th Amendment, although the process for becoming the party’s nominee would be determined by party rules.
Although it is the most probable outcome, neither party mandates that the presidential candidate’s running mate be moved to the head of the ticket, according to the CRS.
Has the convention ever resulted in a candidate dropping out of the race?
Sen. Thomas Eagleton, a Democrat seeking the office of vice president in 1972, was removed from office following the 1972 convention due to the revelation that he had received treatment for a mental condition, according to the CRS. It was a completely different era in 1972! Thanks be to God, mental health is no longer fraught with shame.
Convening a meeting was really necessary for the DNC to confirm Sargent Shriver as the second-choice running mate for Democratic contender George McGovern.
After being elected, what would happen if the president-elect became disabled?
The timing of a president-elect’s death is crucial once again.
Votes for president are officially cast by electors who convene in state capitols, according to the Constitution. Some states insist that they cast ballots for the state’s designated candidate, while others give them more discretion.
According to the CRS paper, which references multiple congressional hearings on the topic, the legislation is unclear, but it seems to reason that the vice president-elect should just step into the president-elect’s shoes.
When the president-elect passes away, the vice president-elect takes over the presidency as per the 20th Amendment.
For example, when precisely a person becomes president-elect is a matter that could raise some doubts. Which comes first: the December meeting of the electors or the January 6 meeting of Congress to tally the votes in the Electoral College?