I like Josh too, and that’s why I’d like to keep him in our state for a few more years. He’s been a highly effective and popular governor. He’s definitely an up-and-comer on the national scene and will definitely be a contender in 2028 or later.
Answering the original question, I think it has to be Harris, should it come to that. She has the highest name recognition and bypassing her would seriously split the party. (How many people in Pennsylvania know who Gavin Newsom is, really?) She’s not the most charismatic person but she’s capable and intelligent and she would surround herself with competent people. Remember, you’re not just voting for the President. You’re voting for the people who would be their trusted advisors, and I think she would make good choices.
A decent showing would help that! So I seriously suggest our Pennsylvania delegates vote for our native son on the first ballot, assuming Joe drops out.
On the second ballot, if a delegate, I’d probably vote for whomever got the most votes on the first ballot.
Prediction: If Joe drops out, Kamala will be nominated on the second ballot. I’m fine with that.
This would not tear the party apart because the delegates are overwhelming Biden era moderates. I do not see this as a contentious process once Biden realizes his time is up.
I was hoping Biden wouldn’t run for a second term and that Whitmer would be the nominee.
In the OP’s scenario, I’d still favor Whitmer but I can’t see in happening without the convention becoming a chaotic mess. Were Biden to step aside, you know he’d do the right thing and back Harris. So it would have to be Harris. There’s nothing wrong with Kamala Harris, but the old adage holds true: Republicans fall in line and the Democrats fall in love. Dems haven’t fallen in love with Harris, but I think they might with Gretchen Whitmer, given the chance.
One thing about Whitmer: She took a state that had trended red and flipped it back completely blue. It’s important that we at examples like Whitmer as what to do around the country if we want to wrestle states back from the clutches of MAGA.
I’ll go with Harris, too – for all the reasons others have listed.
But there’s part of me that would like to see it be JB Pritzker. He’s done a good job as Governor of Illinois, but really it’s because I can visualize the billboards.
I have pointed out in other threads that Harris has been fund raising. No idea how successful or what the donors think, but she’s been pressing the flesh. 3 trips to Bill Gates hoity toity backyard outside of Seattle in the past 18 months. There are a couple of billionaires and more than a peck of hundred millionaires in Medina and surrounding areas.
Kamala also would be able to use the DNC and FEC approved war chests that have been built up.
I’m not wedded to her, but in this time and this place, mission zero is beating Trump. Kamela, and probably any of the dem short list, would have mopped the floor with DJT. I think Kamela is the only realistic plan B. She is the VP, has access to the funding, the donors know her, and frankly could step into the limelight without a lot of baggage. Dumping Kamela for a different shiny object risks alienating blacks, minorities, the Indian vote (and donors), and female voters. Is Newsome going to gain more votes as a white guy vs what’s lost by a perceived “slight” to Kamela?
Who even knows if Kamela wants the job after the experience as Veep?
Off topic, but who wants to bet Donnie doesn’t do another debate? He has no upside. Any of the contenders would eviscerate him. He’s already bloodied Biden with his base. Of course, never underestimate Donnie and hubris, but IMHO his reptilian brain would still come up with winning the Presidency means staying out of jail as being more important than spiking the ball in another debate.
Bernie Sanders.
He did well in the primaries against Hillary Clinton. Had, maybe still has good support among younger voters. He has name recognition. A record of causes and votes for them, for better or worse. I like a lot of his ideas. Doesn’t seem to have too much negative baggage. But is maybe too far left for the Dems at this stage.
I don’t think Biden should step down, but it has to be Kamala Harris. I think it’s too late for anything else. Still, I have a pretty long list of people I’d happily vote for.
Jeff Jackson
Gretchen Whitmer
Wes Moore
Josh Shapiro
Cory Booker
Michael Bennet
Sherrod Brown
Pete Buttigieg
The only plausible candidate at this point in the process is Harris. Unfortunately I have little confidence she could beat Trump (although perhaps more confidence than that Biden can…). I just can’t see the delegates choosing someone else in the situation where Biden declines to accept the nomination.
In a perfect world, pick any person situation, I might try Warnock just to possibly bring GA back into play. But his name recognition nationally is probably too low. Although, counter-intuitively, that might be a positive in this particular campaign where folks don’t like Trump and just want a plausible alternative. But maybe a governor is better since you don’t risk giving up a Senate seat.
So maybe a situation where Biden declines to run, Harris also steps aside (why?), and then the convention consolidates behind Whitmer is the best-case. That seems almost impossible to fathom, so instead we are left holding out hope that the debate was just a blip and the blue wall holds.
Ironically a lot of the reason Harris is written off as someone who can win an election is her one debate against Pence in 2020. And I think that really was mostly her picking a bad strategy, something I think is correctable.
It says a lot that the Republicans have had to adopt a campaign strategy that basically boils down to saying “both candidates are terrible so you might as well not vote for either” and then hoping the maga cultists will show up for Trump.
Well, also her primary run. She had one well-received debate moment that gave her a short-lived bump, but then it was all downhill and the post-mortem on her campaign indicated some organizational challenges (the classic trusting family over professionals mistake, among other things).