Biden supporters: If the DNC replaces Biden on the ticket, but Biden still runs as an independent, would you vote for him?

Interesting Q. For me, that would depend on who the replacement candidate was.

@Jeruba Great point. Let’s say it’s Newsom, or Whitmer, or one of the names being floated in the news. Feel free to pick one you like that you think the DNC could conceivably pick behind the scenes (they’d obviously not pick Bernie for example).

This scenario doesn’t make any sense to me. I think Biden will either be the Democratic candidate or not run. I will vote for whomever I think can defeat Trump.

Newsom? No
Whitmer? Maybe
Raskin? Yes
Otherwise, Go Joe!

It would never happen. I can’t see Biden running as an Independent.

I also don’t think the DNC will get rid of Biden, Biden would have to step down himself. Although, my dad was recently telling me some history that the primary vote wasn’t used at the convention until the 1970’s, which I was not aware of previously.

It would depend on the candidate, but most likely I would vote for the Democrat. I’ve been saying I want Whitmer, but I am a little nervous Independents will find her too strict if they bother to look back at how she handled covid. I think covid is far enough in the past it might not matter.

I really don’t want Newsom. I hope I don’t have to make that choice.

What is a “Biden supporter” for the purposes of this question? I ask because there are plenty of people who are planning to vote for Biden who probably don’t consider themselves supporters. Some of them are anti-Trump voters. Some of them are “lesser evil” voters (which is not the same thing as being specifically anti-Trump). And some of them don’t like the man himself but think he’s more likely to sign the sort of legislation they want and appoint the sort of judges they want (just as many Trump voters felt in 2016).

I will vote for the Democrat because I do not want any more conservatives on the Supreme Court.

I would vote for anybody who has the best chance of beating Trump. It doesn’t matter who.

@JeSuisRickSpringfield “What is a “Biden supporter” for the purposes of this question?”

Great question. I think it could apply to all of the above. If you want to specify where you fall on that spectrum as part of the answer, all the better.

Thanks for the great answers so far.

No. I’m not throwing my vote to trump in any way whatsoever

@gorillapaws Okay, so “Biden supporter” in this context means “Biden voter.” Got it. I plan to vote for Biden because (a) I live in a swing state, and (b) once I eliminate all the areas in which Biden and Trump are functionally equivalent, Biden is less unpalatable to me than Trump. People with different values and preferences may come to the opposite conclusion, and that’s their right. But when faced with two bad candidates, my primary concern becomes harm reduction.

If Biden ran as an independent, the resulting fracture would more or less ensure that Trump would win. There is no one that the Democrats would replace him with who could successfully unite the party against both Trump and Biden. In that case, I would vote for a third party candidate.

For the record, your scenario is more or less impossible. While political parties have significant rights as private corporations to tip the scales before and during the primary elections, they have very limited rights once a candidate has won enough delegates to win the nomination outright on the first ballot. Biden would have to voluntarily step down, which would be a very different situation.

Talked to my partner. She said that she would go with “Big Gretch”.

If it’s Biden and Trump, she’s voting for Robert Kennedy Jr.

@Mama_Cakes Okay, I stand corrected. if Robert Kennedy Jr were my only choice besides Trump I would vote for Trump. RFKJr is the only politician I hate more than Trump and that’s saying a fuckton.

Not enough information.

@Caravanfan, okay.

I will vote for anyone who will beat Trump.

Thankfully Biden stepped out of the race, because I don’t think he was going to win no matter who he ran against, which was why the Dems really put pressure on him to give it up.