Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) predicted that there could be legal challenges in some states if President Biden is not the Democrats’ presidential nominee, setting up potential ballot access conflicts if the president chooses to leave the campaign.
A rising number of Democrats have called on Biden to leave the campaign and make way for a different presidential nominee. While many in the party appear to have coalesced around Vice President Harris, it’s unclear if a new ticket would easily make the ballot in all 50 states.
“[Democrats] have real problems, I mean, every state has their own election system. That’s our constitutional system,” Johnson said in a CNN “State of the Union” interview with Jake Tapper on Sunday. “That’s the way it’s done. And in some of these states, it’s a real hurdle.”
“Joe Biden was chosen after a long, small-D democratic process by 14 million people emerging through that primary,” he continued. “It will be very interesting to see if the so-called party of democracy, the Democrats, go into a backroom somewhere and switch it out and put someone else at the top of the ticket.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) joined the chorus of voices in and around the Democratic Party urging Biden to leave the race, concerned that he will not be able to defeat former President Trump in November.
But Biden and his campaign have remained adamant that the president will be the Democratic nominee despite the rising calls.
“Joe Biden has made it more than clear: he’s in this race and he’s in it to win it. Moreover, he’s the presumptive nominee, there is no plan for an alternative nominee,” Dan Kanninen, Biden campaign battleground states director, wrote in a memo released after the Republican National Convention.
The presidential race remains neck and neck but has widened in recent days. Trump holds a 2.5 percentage point lead over Biden in national polls, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average.