It began after the US President’s weak performance in the TV debate against Donald Trump. Now Joe Biden has actually withdrawn from the presidential election campaign. And at least in this respect, it seems to have been worth it that quite a few people have been asking the once forbidden question in recent days: Who could replace Joe Biden on the ballot?
The good news: There are several high-profile candidates in the party’s ranks. Many have already expressed their ambitions. Vice President Kamala Harris would probably be the most obvious choice – especially since Joe Biden has spoken out in favor of her. The governors of California and Michigan, Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer, have raised their national profiles in recent years. The name of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is also mentioned frequently.
The bad news is that three and a half months before the election, changing candidates entails considerable risks.
No party in recent American history has been forced to replace its presidential candidate, so the Democrats are entering uncharted territory.
Biden has long denied the accusations that he is too old to become president again. His spokesman confirmed that Biden will not drop out and will take part in the second debate in September as planned. The US president himself also dismissed doubts about his suitability. “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” said Biden. But he knows “how to do this job.” But all the declarations of war are now worthless.
Biden’s duel appearance brings “Open Convention” into play
The Democrats have had turbulent days and weeks. Biden was unable to recover from his disastrous debate performance – he even made further mistakes. The pressure on the party grew, and recently former President Barack Obama and the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, also turned away from Biden in a media-friendly manner.
In fact, an exchange at the party convention would still be possible. Instead of a simple nomination event, this could then become a so-called “open convention”. Although Biden won over 95 percent of the delegates’ votes in the primaries, they are not legally bound to vote for him. And from a second round of voting onwards, the “superdelegates” would play an important role again: these are party officials who are free to decide who they vote for.
Political experts warned that a last-minute change could trigger chaos – and that is probably now the case.
The Democrats now face a mammoth task: finding a candidate behind whom the party can unite.
A look at the possible options
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
