Replacing Biden won’t be as easy as Democrats currently believe. Party rules make it almost impossible. Biden has to quit voluntarily, for replacement to be named.

Democratic Party rules make it almost impossible to replace nominees without their consent, let alone smoothly substitute in someone else.

President Joe Biden’s performance in the first debate Thursday has sparked a new round of criticism from Democrats, as well as public and private musing about whether he should remain at the top of the ticket.

“There is a sense of shock at how he came out at the beginning of this debate. How his voice sounded. He seemed a little disoriented,” David Axelrod, who was a top White House and campaign official for former President Barack Obama, said on CNN.

“There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue,” Axelrod added.

A Democratic lawmaker, asked by NBC News whether the debate inspired confidence in Biden, replied: “The best thing I can do to help Joe Biden is to pretend I didn’t get your text.”

Publicly, Democratic officials continue to largely rally around Biden, and they argue a lackluster performance doesn’t change the fundamental stakes of the election.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose name is often floated as a potential alternative nominee, told reporters in the “spin room” after the debate that his party “could not be more wholly unified behind Biden” and said Biden shouldn’t step aside.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/can-democrats-replace-joe-biden-ballot-rcna159374