Rumors about Joe Biden's withdrawal before the US election: The Democrats' alternatives

FR Rumors about Joe Biden's withdrawal before the US election: The Democrats' alternatives Kilian Beck • 5 hours • 3 minutes reading time After the debacle in the TV duel Biden is said to be considering withdrawing from the election campaign against Trump. What would a change of candidate for the Democrats look like and who would be considered? Washington D.C. - According to a report in the New York Times, US President Joe Biden is apparently considering withdrawing from the presidential election campaign. After Biden's weak performance in the TV duel against former President Donald Trump, some of his party colleagues have already called for the 81-year-old to withdraw. The White House immediately denied the Times report. On Wednesday evening (July 3), it was unclear how serious Biden's considerations of withdrawing are. Biden could still name an alternative before the Democrats' nomination vote in August. An overview of the possible effects that Biden's withdrawal from the candidacy would have and which alternative presidential candidates from the Democratic Party are being discussed. Democratic Party Convention: What happens if Joe Biden withdraws his candidacy? Joe Biden is currently only the designated top candidate of the Democrats. However, since he won his party's primaries by a landslide, he has almost all of the delegates' votes at the party convention. The party has no set procedure for the top candidate to withdraw, explained Hans Noel, political scientist at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. to the Associated Press news agency. The approximately 3,900 delegates would then be allowed to vote freely. US Vice President Kamala Harris defends herself against criticism of President Joe Biden's mental state. Elaine Kamarck, a long-time member of the party's statutes committee, said that any withdrawal speech would "possibly contain a recommendation" for a successor. This would not be binding, but would "certainly influence" the delegates' decision. Donations in the US election: Biden's team is already discussing options for reallocating funds Access to Biden's campaign donations is also likely to have an influence on the party convention delegates' decision. According to the transparency platform Open Secrets, the Biden campaign has so far raised around 230 million US dollars in donations. In addition, groups that support Biden have raised around 160 million dollars. According to a report by NBC, Biden's camp was already discussing at the end of June what would happen to the donations if Biden were to withdraw from the presidential candidacy. Campaign finance laws generally prohibit the direct transfer of donations between candidates. Possible Biden withdrawal: Vice President Kamala Harris could be the only one with access to Biden's donations Biden's team has three options for dealing with this problem: The money could be transferred to so-called political action committees, lobby groups for candidates, which are not allowed to work with the campaign team. Or, if Biden withdraws from the presidential candidacy, his team will convince donors to release the funds for another candidate. The third option for keeping as much money as possible, which according to NBC has already been discussed internally, has a name and an office: Kamala Harris, Vice President of the USA and designated Democratic candidate for the office on Joe Biden's ticket. Alternatives to Joe Biden: Vice President Harris leads survey Kamala Harris could access the majority of campaign donations because she is already part of the campaign, the broadcaster reported. Harris also led a snap poll on alternatives to Joe Biden in the event of his withdrawal with 39 percent. The survey by the think tank Data for Progress also surveyed a number of other Democratic politicians. Gavin Newsom, Governor of California, received 18 percent and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg received ten percent. A possible successor would, however, have to be elected at the Democratic Party convention. If Biden were to withdraw, the almost 3,900 delegates who were actually supposed to vote for him would be primarily bound by their conscience. The result of such a vote is therefore difficult to predict. Alternative candidates to Joe Biden Approval ratings Kamala Harris 39 percent Gavin Newsom 18 percent Pete Buttigieg 10 percent Cory Booker (Senator) 7 percent Gretchen Whitmer (Gov. of Michigan) 6 percent Amy Klobuchar (Senator) 2 percent (Fluctuation range: 3 percent, 1011 respondents; source: Data for Progress) US election: Joe Biden has a full schedule despite withdrawal rumors Biden has a full schedule for the rest of the first week of July, and he wants to secure the support of the Democratic governors on Wednesday. The appointment is said to have been scheduled before the rumors of withdrawal emerged. This will be followed by various representative appointments and an interview with ABC on Friday. Biden is expected to make campaign appearances in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania this weekend. On Wednesday evening, after the New York Times report was published, Biden is said to have spoken to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. According to the newspaper, it remained unclear what exactly the two men discussed. It is said to have been their first conversation since Biden's failure in the TV debate. (kb)