New Delhi: The US presidential debate between President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and former President Donald J. Trump has caused a meltdown within the Democratic Party over the performance of their candidate.
The 90-odd minutes reinforced the image that Biden, 81, may perhaps be too old to campaign for the presidency or lead the country.
Numerous reports in the American media have indicated that the Democratic Party is “panicked” by Biden’s halting and meandering debate performance. Biden at times stumbled through answers, leaning into the image that he is too old for the presidency — his biggest electoral liability, according to polls.
Presidential incumbents have rarely had to face difficult challenges from their party colleagues, a convention that the Democrats continued for the 2024 election cycle. However, after Thursday, there are noises from within the party for a replacement candidate before the Democratic National Convention scheduled to take place in Chicago in August.
Whether the whispers become loud enough to force Biden to withdraw from the race is yet to be seen. Given that he won almost 99 percent of all the delegates of the party from the primaries, there is little chance of replacing him at this point. Unless of course Biden chooses to withdraw himself.
If such a decision by Biden comes to pass, the close to 4,000 delegates that will attend the convention will have to decide on an alternative candidate of their choosing. In such a scenario, here are some of the leading candidates that could win the Democratic nomination.
Also Read: In 1st US Presidential debate, Biden gives ‘abysmal’ performance while Trump churns out falsehoods
Kamala Harris
The current Vice President of the US and Biden’s running mate may be the natural choice for the party.
However, in the event that Biden withdraws, Harris would not automatically become the Democratic nominee. Even in the extreme scenario, the incumbent president resigns and Harris is sworn-in to finish out the term, she would not be guaranteed the delegates at the convention.
There are no rules for swapping delegates from one candidate to another.
Biden’s endorsement of Harris may convince some delegates to pick her as the Democratic nominee, but according to FiveThirtyEight, the former Senator from California has dismal approval ratings — about 39.4 per cent.
Gavin Newsom
The popular governor of California has been top of the list for a potential run in 2028. After the debate, media personnel asked him if he was ready to run for the presidency, a question that Newsom immediately dismissed.
He responded by saying that it is a “non-sequitur” on any talks of a run at this point in the election cycle.
On MSNBC, Newsom called such talk “unhelpful” and “unnecessary” and maintained the party line that one bad performance should not lead to the party turning its back on Biden.
Gretchen Whitmer
The incumbent governor of Michigan, Whitmer is another contender for any future presidential run. Having won reelection in the swing state in 2022, he, too, dismissed any talk of replacing Biden and has been a surrogate for the president.
Whitmer on X (formerly Twitter) came out attacking Trump in support of Biden after the debate Thursday.
J.B. Pritzker
Pritzker, the current governor of Illinois is another Democratic leader that was looked at as a potential candidate in 2028. Part of the Pritzker family, which owns the Hyatt hotel chain, he also won reelection in 2022 to continue as the governor of the state.
Pritzker along with Newsom are among the Democratic governors who have stood by Biden despite his debate performance.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Biden couldn’t answer that single burning question in the debate. It’ll cost the Democrats