If President Joe Biden ends his campaign — a notion that White House officials poured freezing water on Wednesday — at least one Democratic ally said he'd expect and support a " mini-primary ." CNN asked Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) whether Vice President Kamala Harris would take the mantle of party nominee should Biden change his mind and step aside.
In response, Clyburn said it would likely come down to several candidates, including Harris and select Democratic governors to compete for the ticket before the Democratic National Convention. "Well, I think we’re going to have a mini-primary leading into the convention,” he said, referring to a virtual roll call needed to appear on the Ohio ballot. Clyburn added: “You can actually fashion the process that’s already in place to make it a mini-primary, and I would support that absolutely.
We can’t close that down, and we should open up everything for the general election.” Harris, he said, would likely acquit herself very well. Read more: Revealed: Chuck Schumer reportedly signaled to allies pre-debate jitters about Joe Biden Clyburn joined other Democrats and many in the GOP who openly said they'd like to hear from Biden following the debacle that was last week's debate.
Brianna Frias, a spokesperson for Clyburn later clarified to Politico in a statement that he was answering a what-if scenario . “It is quite obvious that Congressman Clyburn was responding to a hypothetical question,” said Frias. “He was not cal.
