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The 2024 Presidential election is likely to feature the two oldest major party candidates in American history. There may be a non-trivial chance that at least one of them becomes incapacitated before his party convention, perhaps even after getting enough delegates to be nominated.

Suppose it were Biden who was "hospitalized" (to the point of incapacity) after he won the primary. Would his Vice-President, Kamala Harris, automatically be awarded the nomination at the convention? Or could Biden tell his delegates to nominate any other Democrat of his choice (Michelle Obama, Gavin Newsome, or Robert F. Kennedy, etc.)? Or might the party make the nomination on its own since Biden would be incapacitated?

Suppose it were Trump who won his primary and became incapacitated before his convention? Would his vice-presidential choice be nominated automatically? And if he had not yet nominated a Vice- President would he get to name his replacement candidate to be ratified by his party? Or is there a possibility that Nikki Haley could get the nomination by being the last opponent standing when the front runner became incapacitated?

Edit:

My question goes beyond the other question as follows: If indeed, the results of a primary can't be ignored, what specific things can't be ignored: 1) The presence of a Vice- President or Vice Presidential nominee 2) A standing "runner up" such as Nikki Haley or 3) An express command by the winning delegate-getter for his delegates to back a specific other person.

Tom Au
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  • @RickSmith: Not quite. The gist of my question is does the "incapacitated" person have the "say" in his replacement. For instance, can an incapacitated person use his delegate count to make the choice by designating a VP candidate, or perhaps through a "last will and testament." – Tom Au Feb 10 '24 at 00:52
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    Certainly, the opinion of the leader in the primary has some weight at the convention, assuming they have the capacity to provide one; but, ultimately, it will be the delegates who decide. – Rick Smith Feb 10 '24 at 01:12

1 Answers1

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Delegates to a national convention don't have to vote for the candidate that they are pledged to support if their candidate has effectively dropped out of the race. They become uncommitted delegates who can vote for anyone they wish. The delegates at the national convention then choose someone else.

The question is, how much weight would the candidates stated wishes (nomination of a Vice-President/ instructions to his delegates carry in such a situation?

Instructions from a candidate are not binding. If the candidate drops out of the race, then that candidate's delegates are uncommitted. If the candidate stays in the race, then that candidate's delegates don't have a choice.

ohwilleke
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