Considering the US Presidential Campaign is a 24hr gig nowadays...

[Patooka]

How is the current election campaign going to work with both Harris and Biden as sitting senators? And if they win the general election, what happens to their seats? Do those senate seats get appointed in a Democrat Primary or is it a general election in those states?

 

[KeepTalking]

How is the current election campaign going to work with both Harris and Biden as sitting senators? And if they win the general election, what happens to their seats? Do those senate seats get appointed in a Democrat Primary or is it a general election in those states?

Biden is not a sitting Senator, his last political gig was VP. Kamala Harris is a Senator from California, so her seat is safely blue.

ETA: I see you are from Australia, so I will explain a bit further wrt Harris. In the US, the State Governor is responsible for choosing who will replace a Senator who cannot complete their term. In California the Governor is a Democrat, so he would pick a another Democrat.

 

[Patooka]

Thank you for that. I should have realised Biden isn't a sitting senator.

 

[Worldtraveller]

How is the current election campaign going to work with both Harris and Biden as sitting senators? And if they win the general election, what happens to their seats? Do those senate seats get appointed in a Democrat Primary or is it a general election in those states?

Biden is not a sitting Senator, his last political gig was VP. Kamala Harris is a Senator from California, so her seat is safely blue.

ETA: I see you are from Australia, so I will explain a bit further wrt Harris. In the US, the State Governor is responsible for choosing who will replace a Senator who cannot complete their term. In California the Governor is a Democrat, so he would pick a another Democrat.

And this may have been part of the calculus in choosing Harris over some of the other contenders that were from red states.

 

[KeepTalking]

How is the current election campaign going to work with both Harris and Biden as sitting senators? And if they win the general election, what happens to their seats? Do those senate seats get appointed in a Democrat Primary or is it a general election in those states?

Biden is not a sitting Senator, his last political gig was VP. Kamala Harris is a Senator from California, so her seat is safely blue.

ETA: I see you are from Australia, so I will explain a bit further wrt Harris. In the US, the State Governor is responsible for choosing who will replace a Senator who cannot complete their term. In California the Governor is a Democrat, so he would pick a another Democrat.

And this may have been part of the calculus in choosing Harris over some of the other contenders that were from red states.

It does seem to be the reason why Warren was eliminated from the list very early on.

 

[southernhybrid]

Warren wasn't eliminated early. According to the Biden campaign, he only eliminated her during the last week of the vetting process. The reason being because he wanted someone from a younger generation and a different race to reflect the diversity of the Democratic Party.

Biden had 4 advisors who helped with the vetting process. One of them didn't want Harris because of how she insulted Biden during the debates. Biden isn't the type of person who holds a grudge and debates are pretty silly, imo. When politicians debate, they say all kinds of crazy things. I never take them seriously. They simply have entertainment value.

He didn't choose Rice, who was another finalist, because he felt it was better to choose someone who had already campaigned for office. There's a lot of info out there about the vetting process and why Harris ended up being Biden's first choice.

 

[KeepTalking]

Warren wasn't eliminated early. According to the Biden campaign, he only eliminated her during the last week of the vetting process.

Right. I heard that after I had made my comment above, and had previously thought she had been eliminated far earlier in the process. It seems that I was wrong in my assessment, though in my defense I did stop short of stating it as a fact.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Warren wasn't eliminated early. According to the Biden campaign, he only eliminated her during the last week of the vetting process.

Right. I heard that after I had made my comment above, and had previously thought she had been eliminated far earlier in the process. It seems that I was wrong in my assessment, though in my defense I did stop short of stating it as a fact.

Considering how important every seat is in possibly taking the senate, Warren should have been one of the first off the board.

 

[Derec]

It does seem to be the reason why Warren was eliminated from the list very early on.

It may have played a minor role, but her age was her biggest drawback. Then her race (Democrats love identity politics and 1/1024 poc is just not enough in the modern Democratic Party) and thirdly the fact that she is too left-wing and would put swing states into jeopardy for Biden. Whom Charlie Baker might appoint is at most 4th place consideration.

 

[Terrell]

It can vary by state. Some states require that the new senator come from the same party as the departing one, others the governor can pick who he wants, still others require a special election to fill out the Senator's term. States have say on how they do this.

 

[KeepTalking]

It does seem to be the reason why Warren was eliminated from the list very early on.

It may have played a minor role, but her age was her biggest drawback. Then her race (Democrats love identity politics and 1/1024 poc is just not enough in the modern Democratic Party) and thirdly the fact that she is too left-wing and would put swing states into jeopardy for Biden. Whom Charlie Baker might appoint is at most 4th place consideration.

As noted, I was incorrect when I made that statement, and Warren was apparently on the VP short list right up until the end, therefore none of the above is correct wrt to her having been eliminated very early on.

 

[KeepTalking]

It can vary by state. Some states require that the new senator come from the same party as the departing one, others the governor can pick who he wants, still others require a special election to fill out the Senator's term. States have say on how they do this.

I had to give myself a 17th amendment refresher, as I had thought it removed the power from State legislatures, to the Governors, whereas it actually shifts that power to "the people thereof", and allows for the Governor to be enabled by the legislature to make that choice:

The Seventeenth Amendment

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

Apparently 37 States allow the Governor to appoint the Senate replacement who will be seated for the remainder of the term, and 3 of those (Hawaii, Utah, and Wyoming) require the appointee to be from the party of the previous Senator, chosen from a list provided by that party. The remaining 13 States require the seat to be filled by special election, though only 3 of those (Massachusetts , Oregon, and Wisconsin) prohibit the Governor from making an appointment in the interim.

LAWS GOVERNING U.S. SENATE VACANCIES

 

[Derec]

As noted, I was incorrect when I made that statement, and Warren was apparently on the VP short list right up until the end, therefore none of the above is correct wrt to her having been eliminated very early on.

I doubt she was in any real contention because of the reasons I mentioned (her being over 70; the immense pressure on Biden to pick somebody non-white, and preferably black; her far-leanings). Biden camp saying that Warren was in contention until the end is probably just to placate her fans.