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Let me preface this by saying that I hope Joe Biden doesn't die for any reason.

Currently, 538's 2020 Democratic Primary forecast has >99% odds that Biden wins more than half of pledge delegates.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-primary-forecast/

What would happen in the 2020 Democratic Primary if Biden were to die during the primary?

There is an article on the question here, which mentions that it has never happened before, but it doesn't really answer the question beyond saying that the party finds a replacement.

I'm assuming the Democratic Party would nominate the Biden's chosen vice president had he won the nomination, but I'm more curious as to what would happen if he died before he won the nomination and hadn't yet picked a vice president. Would the second place finisher (Sanders in this case) become the nominee, or would other candidates that have dropped out have the chance to get back in? Would they vote on at who his campaign was looking at as a vice president (seems unlikely)?

Rick Smith
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dumbitdownjr
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    ...if he died before he won the nomination... In this case, it would mean there hadn't even been a convention yet, and the delegates would vote at the convention as usual, just not for him. Unless I'm mistaking your meaning? – Geobits Mar 13 '20 at 20:12
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    @divibisan I think this question is more asking about a before the nominating convention death, not an after being nominated one. I assume the answer will lie in the DNC rules about pledged delegates, bu I haven't tried to track it down yet. – Bobson Mar 13 '20 at 20:16
  • It would go to the 2nd round, and Oprah (or anyone) could win the nom if the delegates so chose. – dandavis Mar 13 '20 at 20:16
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    @Bobson Maybe it could be changed to remove the speculation and ask more specifically about the rules that govern the 2020 Democratic Convention – divibisan Mar 13 '20 at 20:19
  • @divibisan It definitely gets to most of what I was asking. I thought in the case the nominee already had been chosen the vice presidential candidate would become the nominee (e.g., Tim Kaine if Clinton had dropped out), but it seems I was wrong. So it looks like the procedure would be the same both before and after the nominee has been chosen? The DNC officials would get together and vote on who would become the nominee from a list of anyone they want in both scenarios? – dumbitdownjr Mar 13 '20 at 20:26
  • @Geobits Yes, that is what I mean. So the delegates would vote for whoever they want, not restricted to candidates still in the race, and whoever gets the majority becomes the nominee? – dumbitdownjr Mar 13 '20 at 20:29
  • I know this is closed, but this new article from 538 is a pretty comprehensive look at the question. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-happens-if-a-presidential-nominee-can-no-longer-run-for-office/ – dumbitdownjr Apr 16 '20 at 19:58

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