TPresident Biden's dismal debate performance and subsequent failure to responde There's been a lot of speculation among an anxious nation about the best path forward for the Democratic presidential nominee. Strategies range from advisers urging Biden to weather the storm to party insiders urging the president to step aside immediately and nominate a stronger candidate. Vice President Kamala Harris' name has been pushed as a presumptive successor.
Some influential Democrats have gone so far as to say it would be disrespectful to “pass up” Harris as the presidential nominee if Biden were to withdraw from the general election. The argument implies that Harris has earned the top spot among potential next-term candidates and is the most qualified next-term candidate by virtue of her role in what is often described as a thankless job. Hubert Humphrey complained that the job meant a political marriage to the president, demanding strict loyalty. Harris has demonstrated that loyalty by serving as a successful U.S. Senator and as a powerful Attorney General and District Attorney for California.
The history of the role suggests promotion is not a sure thing — voters don't choose candidates solely on their political titles — and a look at the performance of vice presidents in past presidential elections might make some rethink their assumptions that one person deserves to be promoted first.
Despite the benefits of having the backing of a political party and having already held national office, the vice presidency is not a contracted career path unless the president resigns or dies in office. Of the 51 vice presidents in U.S. history, 19 have run for the highest office; 13 were nominated as party representatives. Only six vice presidents, including Joe Biden, have received enough votes from the Electoral College to be nominated for president.
Prior to the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, each member of the Electoral College cast two votes, regardless of whether they were for president or vice president. The candidate with the most votes became president, and the candidate with the second most votes became vice president. Aaron Burr came in second to Thomas Jefferson and became vice president.
While Vice President Harris may well be the next best option to President Biden, the American people and the delegates who will represent them at the Democratic National Convention deserve to hear the platforms of the Harris presidential campaign and those of other qualified candidates, such as:
- Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer,
- Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker
- California Governor Gavin Newsom,
- Maryland Governor Wes Moore,
- Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro,
- Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
- Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Polls have cast doubt on the strength of Harris' own presidential campaign. A CNN poll showed Trump leading Harris by two percentage points, 47 percent to 45 percent. Trump leads Harris in negative net favorability ratings, at -11.4 for Trump to -16.3 for Harris, according to data from RealClear Polling.
An open convention or “rapid primary” would undoubtedly be disruptive for Democrats at a critical time in our nation's history, but having the Democratic leadership nominate a candidate would likely achieve the same result, which would be monumental in itself, as it would be the first modern presidential election in which major party voters were not given the opportunity to nominate their preferred candidate.
The Democratic National Convention is always a raucous caucus. “I don't belong to an organized political party,” social commentator Will Rogers said a century ago. “I'm a Democrat.” Michael Smerconish captured this sentiment in his latest online poll, which found that 72 percent of survey participants agreed that Harris would be the stronger candidate if she went through a competitive process to become the presidential nominee.
President Biden is wasting time as he struggles to prove his fitness to run, robbing Democrats of the time they need to showcase their vibrant portfolio of leaders as a viable candidate to defeat Donald Trump. IBM visionary Tom Watson Jr. once told me, “I am as proud of the success of my successors as I am of the amazing transformation of IBM under my watch.” Biden could enjoy that same sense of pride if he paves the way for his successor.
