Biden’s replacement: from ego battles to natural “heir”

Biden’s announcement has come as a political earthquake (no one believed that he would finally give in and withdraw from the presidential race), and now, the Democrats find themselves at a crossroads because they still do not have a clear plan for containment or relief. It could be the great opportunity to confront an unstoppable Donald Trump in the polls or a downward spiral that the Democrats were already experiencing due to the constant mistakes and blunders of the now ex-candidate Biden.

Well, the key is to choose a strong candidate who can, above all, raise the spirits of the Democratic voter. In his refusal to run for re-election, Biden strongly supported his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the great successor. It is also the only way to keep the money that both have raised in the campaign so far. If both of them drop out of the electoral race, they will lose everything, the 240 million dollars in cash they have raised to date.

But it is clear that the process is not going to be easy either. If Biden had the delegates’ votes well secured for his re-election, now the ego battle will come to the fore. There will be no one who does not want to take advantage of this turbulent and unprecedented moment. The process will not be easy, and it opens the door to complicated political upheaval within the Democratic ranks between now and August 19, when the Democratic Convention begins in Chicago, where Biden was supposed to be officially named the presidential candidate.

The president can release all the delegates who voted for him during the primaries, and once this happens they can choose a new candidate. Biden can recommend Kamala Harris as an option, but has no power to impose it. The problem is that not everyone agrees on the same candidate. For example, one of the party’s heavyweights, Nancy Pelosi, is betting on a new vote to choose a successor, and several members of the party do not want to take any chances, and see Kamala Harris as the only real possibility of saving the election. These divisions could lead the process into a generational and ideological battle within the party.

The only certainty is that there is no clear path, but those are the two options: Kamala Harris or a democratic vote within the party that must take place as soon as possible with candidates less known than the vice president, such as Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Saphiro, California Governor Gavin Newsom or Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Other possible candidates could include Pete Buttigiegwho was already a candidate in the previous elections and is now at the head of the United States Department of Transportation, Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota or Cory Booker from New Jersey. This would mean starting mini-primaries with events by the different candidates throughout the country just four months before the elections. Without a doubt, this is a risky option to motivate voters and could give a sense of division and insecurity about victory.

Closing ranks and consensus

According to experts, Kamala Harris is undoubtedly the natural successor, however, and despite an impeccable performance in the midterm elections (where she obtained strong support from the female and racialized vote), her figure has not managed to transcend enough to cachieve autonomy in these four years of mandate.

For now, Democratic politicians as prominent as the Clintons and Senator Elizabeth Warren already showed their clear support for Harris yesterday. Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a broader statement, highlighted Biden’s mandate and thanked him for aspects such as job creation, economic recovery, “strengthening democracy and restoring our status in the world.” The president of the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison, while not reporting on the process that is opening in the party for a new nomination, said yesterday that he was “excited” because he still supported Biden’s candidacy and highlighted “his leadership during all these years,” reported NBC.

For his part, the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump took advantage yesterday to begin his own personal war against Kamala Harris in case she is his opponent to reach the White House. “She will be easier to defeat than Biden,” he said brazenly.