Who could replace Joe Biden after disastrous presidential debate?
A number of Democrats could potentially be chosen to replace President Biden as he faces enormous pressure from his party to drop his 2024 bid.
Now, even those close to the 81-year-old president have publicly expressed concern over his debate performance against Donald Trump based on Biden’s mumblings, freezes, facial expressions, cough and sometimes incoherent arguments.
Congressional Democrats are growing increasingly confident to express their desire for Biden to drop out, and even members of his family have reportedly joined the messaging line.
With a little more than four months to go before the election, the Democratic Party’s situation is largely dependent on whether Biden decides to remain in the election, if his pledged delegates stay loyal to him at the Democratic National Convention in August, and if the Democratic National Committee decides to rewrite its convention rules.
A handful of high-profile Democrats could rise to the top and be chosen as the Democratic nominee, depending on those answers, even though the process would be extremely arduous.
The president’s campaign has stressed that he’s still running. But if Biden did decide to step down, he could not simply choose his successor.
It would be up to the DNC to elect a new presidential and vice presidential ticket at their August convention.
Names leading the pack include Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, former first lady Michelle Obama, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Gob. Andy Beshear.
But there could be many more possibilities.
No candidate has said they would be open to the nomination, but that could change with Biden’s drop out.
A recent Politico poll found that a plurality of voters, 21%, thought Harris should be the 2028 candidate. Another 10% said the same about Newsom and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, while an overwhelming 41% said they didn’t know who would be best to replace Biden in the next election.
Kamala Harris
Harris, 59, might be considered a decent choice because of her proximity to Biden and his platform — if only she wasn’t plagued by underwater approval ratings.
Harris would have the greatest likelihood of inheriting the Biden-Harris campaign funds, since she would be the only candidate other than Biden continuing a position of the original ticket.
She’s also the only probable candidate who has served in the White House and has been vetted, meaning there would likely not be any huge surprises in the mere weeks before the August convention.
But Harris’ approval is low.
The former California attorney general is currently averaging a dismal 38.6% disapproval rating, according to FiveThirtyEight.
And despite the Politico poll showing she was a top pick for 2028, only 34% told the outlet they thought Harris was “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to win the general election, while 57% said it was either “not too likely” or “not likely at all.”
Harris’s critics have included Kathleen Parker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the liberal Washington Post who earlier this month called for Hillary Clinton to replace the veep on the Dem ticket because of the vice president’s “competency, or lack thereof.”
Gavin Newsom
The California governor, 56, has been one of Biden’s most vocal surrogates in the 2024 election, even showing up at Republican primary debates to stump for the president.
Newsom was also Biden’s top ally in the post-debate spin room involving the press, showing up hours before the showdown to stress Democratic talking points.
After the debate, Newsom told MSNBC that the “panic” over Biden’s performance was “unnecessary” and that “we gotta have the back of this president.”
He said he intends to “step up” for the president and not focus on the debate.
Too bad his own state is in shambles.
The governor has overseen an infamous epidemic of crime, homelessness and drug use in the Sunshine State, not to mention a flood of illegal border crossings and one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates.
People have reportedly been fleeing the state in droves, including comedian and podcast host Adam Carolla, who recently said life in Los Angeles had become unbearable while blasting Newsom as “sociopathic,” a “narcissistic douchebag” and “slippery eel of nothingness.”
Michelle Obama
The former first lady, 60, has largely stayed out of politics since she and former President Barack Obama left the White House in 2016.
And even the struggles of her husband’s former veep, Biden, haven’t been enough to drag her back in — although reportedly for more personal reasons.
The ex-White House matriarch does not want to publicly campaign for Biden’s re-election partly because of how his family treated Kathleen Buhle, her close pal, in the wake of Buhle’s nasty divorce from first son Hunter Biden, Axios reported this week.
But her reluctance to step back into the political limelight that hasn’t stopped Democrats from backing her odds as the Dems’ next presidential nominee.
JB Pritzker
Pritzker, 59, would likely have the easiest time running at this point — but only because of his billionaire net worth as an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, which would ease his ability to reach voters in a short time by potentially self-funding his campaign, according to Dennis Lennox, a Republican strategist and expert on convention rules.
“Procedurally, a contested convention — regardless of whether they reject or amend the proposed rules or suspend the rules — is straightforward and easy to bring about, though it would almost certainly unravel into a civil war between the disparate interests that make up today’s Democratic Party,” Lennox told The Post.
“The convention host, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, is the obvious choice. He doesn’t have the baggage of Vice President Kamala Harris or California’s governor, Gavin Newsom. Plus, the billionaire can self-fund overnight and buy the nomination, thereby averting a civil war on the floor of the convention,” he added.
“Of course, if you’re Newsom, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore or Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor, you can’t self-fund. So you stick with Biden. While he loses to Trump, you remain viable for the 2028 campaign that begins the day after November,” the GOP expert said.
But Pritzker brings plenty of other baggage.
In 2023, he signed into law a controversial measure that entirely eliminated cash bail in the state, instead leaving it up to judges whether to free suspects.
His family also has reportedly dumped millions of dollars into transgender causes that critics say encourage youth questioning their gender to undergo surgery or take transition blockers without going through proper guidance.
As governor, he passed a sex-ed bill, too, that follows curriculum teaching 5-year-olds about “gender identity” and 8-year-olds about hormone blockers to prevent puberty in preteens.
Gretchen Whitmer
The Michigan governor, 52 — infamously known for her COVID-era shutdown on businesses and schools in the state — has quickly risen in the ranks of known Democratic leaders.
She is often mentioned in online discourse about who could possibly step in for Biden and launched a national political group last year to boost her name recognition.
Whitmer, Harris, Newsom and Pritzker have not publicly expressed any interest in running against Biden and maintained support for him after the debate.
Josh Shapiro
There is speculation the Pennsylvania governor could be one of the most likely candidates to take up the mantle if Biden drops out.
His name is frequently mentioned as a possibility despite his short tenure in office, only becoming governor in 2022.
Shapiro’s rise to national prominence is partly due to his wide-margin win in the gubernatorial race despite Pennsylvania being a swing state.
He could also be a good candidate given his swing state background. Pennsylvania is one of the most important states to win in the close race against Trump.
Shapiro, 51, could also highlight his age in a battle with Trump, 78.
Andy Beshear
The Kentucky governor has been in office since 2019 and has recently been reported as a possible name who could step into the presidential race.
He is popular in Kentucky, which is a usually Republican state. He has also tried to raise his name on the national level recently, travelling to out-of-state Democratic fundraisers and starting a PAC to support party members in difficult-to-win states.
Trump’s campaign has recently shifted their strategy to include the possibility of Biden dropping out. Trump adviser Brian Hughes said newly-selected VP pick Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) would not participate in a veep debate against Harris because the Democrats don’t know who will be at the top of the ticket.
“We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for vice president is going to be, so we can’t lock in a date before their convention. To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate,” Hughes said in a statement.
