I don’t think this Republican party is ever going to disqualify Trump no matter what he gets convicted of, but I suppose he’s due for a stroke or heart attack or something like that
There is a nonzero chance that the Supreme Court upholds Colorado’s removal of Trump from the ballot under the 14th amendment. If they do, there’s nothing that the GOP can do to get him back on the ballot. Trump would be out of the race, and Haley would essentially be the nominee by default.
And there’s also the very real possibility that Trump drops dead of a heart attack. Not only is he 77 years old and already in poor physical and mental health, his diet consists of Burger King and a whole bunch of food even worse for you than Burger King.
But even still, couldn’t the GOP delegates pledged to Trump just pick another candidate if he’s unavailable?
Has anyone in modern history ever been a viable candidate for President but dropped dead mid-race? Genuine question. I have no idea what the procedure would be. But it would at least be funny watching the GOP stumble all over themselves trying to figure out what to do.
I think Haley’s plan is to hang on by a string until the Supreme Court makes their ruling. If they don’t remove Trump from the ballot on 14a grounds, she’ll probably drop out before the end of the day. The viability of her entire candidacy hinges entirely on that ruling. If they boot Trump from the ballot, she’s probably the nominee by default. If they let him stay on, her campaign is dead in the water.
Even if the Supreme Court upholds the removal of Trump from the Colorado ballot, it isn’t immediately over for him, unfortunately. He won in 2016 without Colorado.
That said, it would be a precedent, and other Secretaries of State could start removing him with confidence. The question remains: would enough states remove him to make winning impossible? Which is to ask: how many battleground states (or even red states) would remove him?
Most, if not all, of the legal talking heads on both sides of the aisle (not counting MAGA morons looking for soundbytes) have said that the SC upholding Colorado’s ruling that he engaged in insurrection and is therefore disqualified from the ballot would be binding nationwide, which means he’d be disqualified everywhere as the Supreme Court would be confirming that he is Constitutionally disqualified from office. He wouldn’t be able to stay in the race at all. If the Supreme Court overturns Colorado, then Trump stays on everywhere.
It’s why so many states that are also weighing in on the subject have either refused to rule on the matter pending the SC decision, or have stayed their own rulings pending the SC decision. He’s either going to be on it everywhere or nowhere.
Losing MI, WI, and NV would kill his campaign. Those are probably the most likely swing states I could see moving forward with removing him. It won’t take a lot with how razor thin the margins are.
What happens if a candidate dies or becomes incapacitated?
There is no Federally-required process to follow if a candidate who is projected to receive electoral votes dies or becomes incapacitated between the general election and the meeting of electors. However, individual States may have their own requirements that govern how electors must vote at the meeting of the electors. In 1872, when Horace Greeley passed away between Election Day and the meeting of electors, the electors who were slated to vote for Greeley voted for various candidates, including Greeley. The votes cast for Greeley were not counted due to a House resolution passed regarding the matter. See the full Electoral College vote counts for President and Vice President in the 1872 election.
We don’t know what would happen if a candidate who, dies after or becomes incapacitated between the meeting of electors and the counting of electoral votes in Congress.
The Constitution is silent on whether this candidate meets the definition of “President elect” or “Vice President elect.” If the candidate with a majority of the electoral votes is considered “President elect” before the counting of electoral votes in Congress, §3 of the 20th Amendment applies. That section states that the Vice President elect will become President if the President-elect dies or becomes incapacitated.
If a winning Presidential candidate dies or becomes incapacitated between the counting of electoral votes in the Congress and the inauguration, the Vice President-elect becomes President, according to §3 of the 20th Amendment.
There is a nonzero chance that the Supreme Court upholds Colorado’s removal of Trump from the ballot under the 14th amendment. If they do, there’s nothing that the GOP can do to get him back on the ballot. Trump would be out of the race, and Haley would essentially be the nominee by default.
And there’s also the very real possibility that Trump drops dead of a heart attack. Not only is he 77 years old and already in poor physical and mental health, his diet consists of Burger King and a whole bunch of food even worse for you than Burger King.
Has anyone in modern history ever been a viable candidate for President but dropped dead mid-race? Genuine question. I have no idea what the procedure would be. But it would at least be funny watching the GOP stumble all over themselves trying to figure out what to do.
I think Haley’s plan is to hang on by a string until the Supreme Court makes their ruling. If they don’t remove Trump from the ballot on 14a grounds, she’ll probably drop out before the end of the day. The viability of her entire candidacy hinges entirely on that ruling. If they boot Trump from the ballot, she’s probably the nominee by default. If they let him stay on, her campaign is dead in the water.
Even if the Supreme Court upholds the removal of Trump from the Colorado ballot, it isn’t immediately over for him, unfortunately. He won in 2016 without Colorado.
That said, it would be a precedent, and other Secretaries of State could start removing him with confidence. The question remains: would enough states remove him to make winning impossible? Which is to ask: how many battleground states (or even red states) would remove him?
Most, if not all, of the legal talking heads on both sides of the aisle (not counting MAGA morons looking for soundbytes) have said that the SC upholding Colorado’s ruling that he engaged in insurrection and is therefore disqualified from the ballot would be binding nationwide, which means he’d be disqualified everywhere as the Supreme Court would be confirming that he is Constitutionally disqualified from office. He wouldn’t be able to stay in the race at all. If the Supreme Court overturns Colorado, then Trump stays on everywhere.
It’s why so many states that are also weighing in on the subject have either refused to rule on the matter pending the SC decision, or have stayed their own rulings pending the SC decision. He’s either going to be on it everywhere or nowhere.
Losing MI, WI, and NV would kill his campaign. Those are probably the most likely swing states I could see moving forward with removing him. It won’t take a lot with how razor thin the margins are.
It’s a good question. Keeping in mind that constitutionally, individual voters don’t elect the president, Electors do – here’s a partial answer. Partial because it’s mostly never happened before, so no one really knows:
From the Electoral College FAQ at the National Archive
Also see: https://people.howstuffworks.com/what-happens-presidential-candidate-dies.htm
and https://www.vox.com/21502447/trump-biden-death-what-happens (from 2020)