Democrats could take a three-step political process to replace President Joe Biden, 81, with an alternative candidate on their 2024 ticket, top editors at Politico outlined Monday.
The article highlights the slim but possible opportunity for Democrats to replace Biden after Special Counsel Hur said he would not prosecute the president for stealing classified documents because he is an “elderly man with a poor memory.”
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Reported alternatives include Vice President Kamala Harris, two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama, who battles mental health issues.
“For those curious, Democrat Party has multiple easy ways to get rid of Biden and replace him with a potentially less senile/less corrupt candidate,” Molly Hemingway, editor-in-chief of the Federalist, posted Politico’s article on X. “The challenges are basically just political, not procedural.”
Kamala Harris and Joe Biden (Instagram/Joe Biden)
The three-step political process, according to Politico‘s Charlie Mahtesian, a senior politics editor, and Steven Shepard, a senior campaign and elections editor and chief polling analyst, does not include a “late-entering white knight candidate” due to filing deadlines. The deadlines for primary access will pass by the end of the month in all but six states and Washington, DC. Those include Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and South Dakota.
Former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama on August 28, 2023. (Jean Catuffe/GC Images)
Mahtesian and Shepard outlined the political process to replace Biden:
1. Biden Must Voluntarily Step Aside Before Democrat National Convention
According to Politico:
Biden would announce he would not accept the nomination and release his delegates to back a different nominee. He could insist he’s still fit to serve out another term but that he accepts the public’s concerns with a president who would be 86 at the end of a second term. He could remind voters that he has always said he was a bridge to a future generation of Democratic leaders. The economy is on track, he could note, and argue that he defeated Trump once and protected American democracy. He met his duty.
2. Delegates Nominate a New Candidate at Convention
Politico explained:
Heading into the convention, Biden would still remain a kingmaker. If the rest of the primaries went as South Carolina and Nevada have, the vast majority of delegates to the convention would be pledged to Biden. They aren’t legally required to support the president — or anyone he’d potentially endorse to replace him on the ticket — but these individuals would’ve been vetted by the Biden campaign, and many would likely follow his lead if he backed a candidate.
3. Tie Lose Ends
Politico said:
Every party faction would attempt to leverage the unprecedented situation to its advantage. The potential field could be sprawling — including not only 2020 Democratic hopefuls but others who recognize the Democratic nomination might not open up again until 2032. … A late Biden departure from the ticket would pose a logistical nightmare for the states. Overseas military ballots are set to go out in some places just a couple of weeks after the convention ends, and in-person early voting begins as soon as Sept. 20 in Minnesota and South Dakota. Yes, Americans technically vote for electors, not presidential candidates — but any post-convention effort to replace Biden would likely end up in court if votes have already been cast with the name ‘Joseph R. Biden Jr.’ on the ballot.
The challenge of replacing Biden is not easy. An alternative candidate does not appear obvious. Harris’s approval rating is lower than Biden’s. Election denier Hillary already lost to former President Donald Trump once, and Michelle Obama does not appear interested in the job.
Former U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton shares a laugh with former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, on December 8, 2016, in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Biden remains insistent upon running for a second term. He believes he is the only Democrat who can defeat Trump, even though 54 percent of Democrat primary voters prefer an alternative.
“Would you be running if Trump wasn’t running?” a reporter asked Biden in December.
“I expect so,” Biden replied. “But he is running, and — I just — I have to run.”
“If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” Biden said, adding that Democrats “cannot let him [Trump] win.”
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White HouseWendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
