Biden’s weak debate performance immediately sparked anguish and alarm within the Democratic Party, with some questioning whether the 81-year-old Biden should be removed from the ballot.
Biden’s defiant, husky rebuttal to former President Donald Trump, 76, on Thursday night renewed calls for the Democratic nominee to consider stepping down just four months before the election.
There is no evidence that Biden intends to back down and end his campaign, but doubts are growing about whether Democrats can actually oust him.
But with the November election looming, could the Democratic nominee replace the president? And if so, how?
The current Democratic National Committee rule Unless the candidate resigns, it will be nearly impossible to replace him or her.
With states already holding their presidential primaries, rules mean any delegates Biden wins will have to pledge their support for him at the upcoming party convention — unless, of course, he signals he’s dropping out of the race.
“Delegates elected to the national convention, who have pledged allegiance to the presidential candidate, must act in accordance with their conscience and reflect the sentiments of the people who elected them,” the rules read.
It’s possible that the Democratic National Convention could convene and officially change how it operates before the election opens on Aug. 19, but that seems unlikely as long as Biden intends to continue campaigning.
But if Biden were to suddenly agree to withdraw the nomination, the party could find itself opening up a rulebook that hasn’t been used for decades.
The party’s constitution includes a provision for nominating replacement candidates if a seat becomes vacant, which is intended to apply in rare circumstances such as death or incapacity.
To fill the vacancy, the chairman must convene a special meeting of the full Democratic National Committee to vote on new presidential and vice presidential nominees.
Given the majority vote required, the process could be arduous given the number of Democratic candidates who have declared their candidacy early on.
Vice President Kamala Harris is Biden’s running mate, but that doesn’t mean she will default to replacing Biden at the top of the shortlist.
Biden also cannot order her to replace him if he suddenly decides to drop out of the race.
This means Harris will likely join other leading Democratic candidates who could potentially seek to succeed Biden, including Governors Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer and J.B. Pritzker.
That could set up a scenario in which Ms. Harris and others would lobby state delegations for support at the convention, something Democrats haven’t done since 1960, when John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson came together to get out the vote.
Still, if Biden were to abandon his campaign, conservative groups have already threatened to file lawsuits questioning the legality of a new Democratic candidate’s name appearing on the ballot.
But experts say courts have consistently stayed away from primaries unless the party running them is engaging in race-based voter suppression or other constitutional practices that violate the primary elections.
Follow the latest updates from the Trump vs Biden 2024 debate.
“It’s very clear constitutionally that this is party purview,” Elaine Kamark, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, told The Associated Press before the debate.
“The job of appointing people to represent a party is the job of the party.”
Biden, meanwhile, has already stressed he has no plans to back down, telling supporters in Atlanta “let’s keep going” shortly after leaving the debate stage.
And a Biden campaign spokesman was even more adamant on Friday: “Of course, he’s not backing down.”
With post wire
