# What would happen if both candidates died in September or October? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 6, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967 "2016-08-06T18:53:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/1 "2016-08-06T18:53:44Z")
Picture it: During one of the presidential debates before a US presidential election in September or October, disaster strikes. Maybe it’s an earthquake, terrorism, a vengeful act of God, or both candidates get themselves worked up so much that they have heart attacks or strokes. It doesn’t really matter how both candidates shuffle off the mortal coil just a month or two before the presidential election, just that they do. Now what happens? Besides panic, that is. Do the first runners up in the primaries become the parties’ new candidates? Are new primaries immediately held? Does the election get delayed? Something else? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/2 "2016-08-06T19:18:01Z")
It would be Kaine vs Pence wouldn’t it? that’s sorta what their job is. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/3 "2016-08-06T19:27:04Z")
Completely unknown and unknowable. What if cats started talking? Anything anybody puts forth is sheer speculation, and they’re just pulling it out of their ass. Such an event would be totally unprecedented and **whatever** happened would lead to constitution challenges galore. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/4 "2016-08-06T19:29:12Z")
September gives enough time for the parties to use their rules to decide who their candidate will be and for ballots to be reprinted. October wouldn’t leave that kind of time, so the parties will stick by their VP candidates, the ballots will remain the same, and every body will know who would become president anyway. What would happen in terms of the election outcome? Pence wins. The rebound from Trump being out of the election gives a lot of voters back to the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/5 "2016-08-06T19:30:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > What would happen in terms of the election outcome? Pence wins. The rebound from Trump being out of the election gives a lot of voters back to the GOP. I disagree, because Hillary would also be out. It turns into generic Dem vs generic Rep, and I think the Dems win that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/6 "2016-08-06T19:40:56Z")
You’d also certainly have conspiracy theories aplenty flying around, and who knows how those would influence peoples’ decisions? It’d probably depend on which of the two died first, if it wasn’t simultaneous. But even then, if people conclude, say, that Trump was deliberately offed, would they assume that it was done by the Democrats, or by establishment Republicans? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/7 "2016-08-06T19:44:30Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > It would be Kaine vs Pence wouldn’t it? that’s sorta what their job is. If it happened after Election Day who ever was VP on the winning ticket would become President. > [@silenus](#): > > Completely unknown and unknowable. What if cats started talking? Anything anybody puts forth is sheer speculation, and they’re just pulling it out of their ass. Such an event would be totally unprecedented and **whatever** happened would lead to constitution challenges galore. I don’t think this is necessarily the case. I’m under the impression both the RNC and DNC would convene meetings and would decide who to put on the respective tickets. This is what happened in 1972 when Eagleton was dropped by McGovern. I thought there was a column where Cecil addressed this issue in some way but I’m having trouble finding it. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/8 "2016-08-06T19:51:31Z")
Found it - [Cecil’s column on this exact topic.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/122/what-if-the-u-s-president-and-vice-president-elect-die-before-being-sworn-in) > [@](#): > > What would probably have happened if Reagan had died would be that the Republican National Committee would have gotten together and nominated a new candidate, whom the electors, being mostly loyal party functionaries, would likely then elect without further ado. > > If Ronnie had passed into the Great Void after the electoral college vote, but George didn’t, still no problem. The 20th Amendment provides that the vice-president assumes the office. If both lads had joined the choir, though, we’d have had trouble. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/9 "2016-08-06T19:52:44Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I disagree, because Hillary would also be out. It turns into generic Dem vs generic Rep, and I think the Dems win that. Republicans will vote for a generic Republican. Democrats don’t fall in line so easily. Tim Kaine is a unknown to the Democrats. Pence is known enough to Republican because he is know as a Republican™. There’s no way for me to say it’s a sure thing, but when Trump goes the GOP will rejoice, when Hillary goes the Democratic Party will be crestfallen. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/10 "2016-08-06T20:13:02Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Republicans will vote for a generic Republican. Democrats don’t fall in line so easily. Tim Kaine is a unknown to the Democrats. Pence is known enough to Republican because he is know as a Republican™. There’s no way for me to say it’s a sure thing, but when Trump goes the GOP will rejoice, when Hillary goes the Democratic Party will be crestfallen. Trump voters would be just as crestfallen, what does Pence do for them? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/11 "2016-08-06T20:30:26Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Trump voters would be just as crestfallen, what does Pence do for them? They’ll lose some people who were only voting for Trump just like the Democrats will lose some voters who were only voting for Hillary. Pence is more well known among Republicans than Kaine is among Democrats. Pence doesn’t have to prove himself as a Republican even to those who don’t know him. Kaine has an uphill battle to fight in his own party. A large number of Republicans will be very happy that Pence is their candidate instead of Trump. Tell me how big Kaine’s family is and I’ll tell you how many Democrats will be happy he’s the candidate instead of Hillary. If the Democrat party can and does make Bernie their candidate they’ll be in much better shape. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/12 "2016-08-06T20:31:39Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > It would be Kaine vs Pence wouldn’t it? that’s sorta what their job is. Not officially. Officially the Democratic and Republican national committees would convene and nominate new candidates for President. Maybe they would be Kane and Pence, but it isn’t carved in stone. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/13 "2016-08-06T20:59:38Z")
A collective sigh of relief? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-both-candidates-died-in-september-or-october/761967/14 "2016-08-07T01:37:16Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > It would be Kaine vs Pence wouldn’t it? that’s sorta what their job is. Not necessarily - the RNC/DNC can each choose some other candidate.