Democrats could take a three-step political process to replace President Joe Biden on their 2024 ticket, top editors at Politico outlined in February, perhaps anticipating Biden’s poor debate performance on Thursday.
Reported alternatives include Vice President Kamala Harris, two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former First Lady Michelle Obama — who battles mental health issues — and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).
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 Clinton already lost to former President Donald Trump once, and Michelle Obama does not appear interested in the job.
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 passed in the spring. All that some Democrats can hope for now is that Biden voluntarily steps aside at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
Mahtesian and Shepard outlined the political process to replace Biden at the DNC:
1. Biden Must Voluntarily Step Aside Before the Democratic 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 the 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 Loose 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.
It will be very difficult for Democrats to replace Biden this late in the political cycle, MAGA Inc. CEO Taylor Budowich posted on X:
While the Biden Replacement Theory is being peddled by anyone wanting to fill column inches or get on TV this morning, the real Democrat strategists are waking up realizing they’re stuck with Biden.
Biden camp is already saying he won’t drop out, but that’s the easy part. The FEC does not make it easy to just transfer and deploy hundreds of millions of dollars to some other candidate—dollars they’d desperately need.
And who is that candidate? The idea that the ego maniacs of Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, AOC, and whatever other vulture hoping to make this their moment will ignore deep policy differences, personal animosities, and the urging of those around them is ludicrous.
Not to mention the activist delegates who control the entire nominating process and the rules of convention. Activists who have little understanding of the real diversity of our country or what it takes to win a national election. They are ill prepared to actually serve as a legitimate alternative to the democratic nominating process.
For Democrats, the only thing worse then going into Election Day with Joe Biden on the ticket, is Joe Biden leaving the ticket and the absolute cannibalistic chaos the will surely ensue. This is why Democrats will likely stick with their plans of an early virtual nomination, ram through Biden, and hope something, anything breaks their way.
Biden campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster told the Hill on Friday that Biden is not dropping out of the presidential race.
Sixty-seven percent said Trump won the debate, a CNN flash poll of debate watchers found Thursday.
Wendell 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.
