Who could replace Joe Biden and how likely is it to happen?
The US president is facing calls to quit as Democratic Party leader after a stuttering performance in a debate with Donald Trump.
Joe Biden is coming under intense pressure from his own party after a stuttering performance in the first debate ahead of the US election this year.
The US president locked horns in a fiery back and forth with Donald Trump in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday night.
But it didn’t go too well and most were in agreement that Trump came out on top.
Biden, 81, has been criticised by the Democrats and now faces renewed calls to quit as the party’s nominee.
Fears are growing within the party that Trump could make a return to the White House if Biden doesn’t stand aside.
But who would take over from him as the Democratic Party leader? And how likely is it that Biden could actually be replaced? We take a look.
Who could replace Joe Biden?
Democratic strategist Theryn Bond is among those leading the cries for Joe Biden to be replaced.
She named three potential successors to the Democratic Party throne.
They are California governor Gavin Newsom, vice president Kamala Harris and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Other Democratic governors who have also been thrown into the mix as a possible replacement are Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker, Colorado governor Jared Polis and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro.
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom is a name that has soared to the top of the list of potential replacements for Biden.
The 56-year-old is a successful businessman who has served as the governor of California since 2019.
But he has quickly moved to dismiss any rumours he could be gunning for top spot and said last night: ‘I would never turn my back on President Biden. I don’t know a Democrat in my party that would do so. And especially after tonight, we have his back.
‘We run, not the 90-yard dash. We are all in. We’re going to double down in the next few months. We’re going to win this election.’
Kamala Harris
Strategist Ms Bond said vice president Kamala Harris would be the ‘most likely replacement’ for Biden – and it makes sense given her deputy role.
But she would not automatically become a nominee in the unlikely event Biden stands aside, nor would she have ownership of his delegates because she wasn’t on any primary ballots – unlike Biden.
Ms Bond also shockingly claimed she could not deliver a victory for the party because the US was ‘not ready’ for a Black woman to be president.
She told Sky News: ‘Unfortunately as much as I want the US to be ready for Black woman to be president, they are not ready.
‘This country is not ready. This country is too divisive, unfortunately, we’re just not there. I don’t think she would be the one to take the Democratic Party to victory.’
Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, is a lawyer who has served in her current role since 2019.
The 52-year-old has described herself as a ‘progressive’ Democrat and rose to prominence when she was selected to deliver the party’s response to the State of the Union address by then president Trump.
Michigan was considered as one of the swing states in the last election in 2020 – and seen as a significant victory for the Democrats.
How likely is it that Joe Biden could be replaced?
This is of course the most important question of all. It’s one thing wanting Biden to be replaced, but actually doing so is far more complicated.
The only realistic scenario which would see someone else take over from Biden is if he voluntarily withdraws.
But that is thought to be highly unlikely, even though senior Democratic leaders are reportedly discussing whether or not he should continue.
‘I think we did well,’ Biden told the press after the debate. He also implied he has no thoughts of quitting, nor concerns about his performance.
He added: ‘It’s hard to debate a liar. The New York Times pointed out he [Trump] lied 26 times.’
However, there were major concerns that Biden was fumbling and is too old to continue.
‘There is a sense of shock at how he came out at the beginning of this debate. How his voice sounded. He seemed a little disoriented,’ said David Axelrod, who was a top White House and campaign official for former President Barack Obama.
He told CNN: ‘There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue.’
Ousting Biden is complicated because he already has enough delegates to have secured victory in the nomination.
He has 3,894 pledged delegates. He only needs 1,976 to be the nominee. It’s also thought to be almost impossible that he will be abandoned en-masse by his closest allies.
Despite Biden’s apparent refusal to be phased by Thursday’s shaky showing, some bookmakers have slashed the odds on him resigning.
William Hill spokesman Lee Phelps, said: ‘It is odds-on for Biden to stand down at 10/11, in order to give his party a last hope to save their chances of keeping Trump out of the Oval Office.
‘As a result, Gavin Newsom – the Democrat Governor of California – is 6/1 to be the next president, as a possible replacement.’
What happens if Joe Biden does quit?
In the unlikely event that Joe Biden does drop out before he is supposed to be formally nominated in August, it would essentially become a free-for-all among the Democrats.
There is no ‘mechanism’ for him or anyone else to elect a chosen successor, NBC reports.
Because most of Biden’s rivals for the party leadership all effectively won no delegates in the nomination process, they would all be starting from scratch.
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