Race for the White House: What if Biden drops out of the US election campaign?

The pressure on US President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race has grown in recent days. Concerns about his age and doubts about his mental fitness are immense, even among his closest confidants. According to media reports, the Democrat is considering withdrawing. Important questions and answers about a possible departure:

What if Biden drops out now?

Biden has already won his party’s internal primaries and secured the necessary delegate votes for the nominating convention, which will take place from August 19 to 22 in Chicago, Illinois. The 81-year-old was actually supposed to be officially chosen as presidential candidate there. If Biden were to drop out shortly beforehand, the delegates in Chicago would no longer be bound by the outcome of the primary in their state, but would be free to make their own decision.

However, so close to the election, the Democrats are unlikely to be interested in starting an open competition between several replacement candidates and turning the party convention into the venue for a voting drama. It is more likely that they would try to rally the party behind a new leader in advance.

Who could that be?

Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, is considered Biden’s natural successor. There are now indications that if Biden withdraws, he could propose Harris as his presidential candidate for the November election. The 59-year-old was long considered to be pale in her position and had to struggle with poor poll ratings. However, in view of Biden’s stalemate, she has recently gained popularity.

Harris is the first woman and the first black person to be sworn in as US Vice President. Her father immigrated from Jamaica to study economics. Her mother, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist, came from India. The Democrats would need good reasons to simply ignore Harris. In addition, she is nationally known for her role, she has already passed all the White House checks and she could probably access the campaign apparatus and probably also the donations collected by Biden because she is already part of his re-election campaign as Vice President. However, if Harris were to move up, she would still need a running mate by the time of the party convention.

Are there any alternatives to Harris?

In addition to Harris, the names Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer have been mentioned most frequently recently. Newsom (56) is the governor of the powerful state of California. He has made a name for himself nationally and has worked intensively on his political profile, most recently with well-publicized trips abroad. Whitmer (52) is the governor of Michigan and has long been considered an up-and-coming force in the party. Before the 2020 election, Biden had considered her as his vice president. According to US media, both have made it clear internally that they are not available for the second row as possible vice presidents for Harris.

What if Biden withdraws after the convention?

If Biden were to drop out of the race after his official nomination, it would be up to the party leadership. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has several hundred members – with representatives from every state. So it would not be a very small executive committee that would make the decision. Nevertheless, experts say it could be a nuisance if such a round alone were to decide who would run for the party. To prevent this, it would theoretically be possible to convene a separate party convention out of turn – if that were even possible in terms of time and logistics.