03 November 2008
National Ticket Candidates Will Have Jobs Regardless of Vote
Democratic, Republican candidates likely to continue in elected office
Washington — No matter who wins the 2008 presidential election on November 4, the loser can be certain of one thing: He still has a job.
The last serving U.S. senator to ascend to the presidency was John F. Kennedy in 1960. The next U.S. president will be following Kennedy’s path: For the first time in U.S. history, both of the major parties’ nominees are sitting U.S. senators. Republican John McCain represents Arizona and Democrat Barack Obama is from Illinois.
Both McCain and Obama are highly regarded members of the Senate who have played influential roles in shaping their parties’ legislative agendas. Whichever man returns to the Senate likely will continue to play a leading role in his party.
Because both candidates are currently serving in the U.S. Senate, there will be at least one vacancy there on January 20, 2009. Each state sets its own rules for replacing an empty Senate seat.
In Illinois, should Obama need to be replaced, the state’s governor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, would choose a person to serve until the scheduled end of Obama’s term in January 2011. Political experts assume Blagojevich would select a fellow Democrat, or if he wanted, he could even select himself.
If McCain is elected president, Arizona’s governor, Janet Napolitano, would appoint a successor to serve until McCain’s term expires, also in January 2011. However, Arizona law requires her to select a new senator from the same party as the individual who left the post.
According to Congressional Quarterly, Napolitano, who is a Democrat, has expressed interest in running for the Senate herself in 2010. So if she appoints a successor to McCain, she might be tempted to select someone against whom she could compete effectively in the next election.
THE FUTURE FOR SARAH PALIN, JOE BIDEN
If McCain wins, Alaska will find itself with a new governor in January 2009 to replace Sarah Palin. Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell would become Alaska’s new chief executive. Parnell would appoint a new lieutenant governor, subject to confirmation by the state’s legislature.
Before the 2008 election, Palin was unknown to most Americans. Political experts are already speculating about what Palin’s future will be if she is not elected vice president. Some Republicans have suggested that Palin could play a large role in the party in the coming years.
Democratic Joe Biden is also a sitting U.S. senator but, unlike Obama and McCain, Biden is running for re-election in 2008 and seeking his seventh term as a Delaware senator at the same time he is running for the vice presidency.
Some states prohibit politicians from seeking more than once office on the same ballot, but Delaware does not have such a law. Biden is expected to win re-election easily.
The procedure for replacing Biden, if the Democratic presidential ticket is successful, is somewhat complex. Under Delaware law, the state’s governor will appoint a person to replace Biden on an interim basis, until the general election in November 2010. The individual elected then would serve until January 2015, when Biden’s Senate term would expire.
Just who will have the authority to replace Biden is unclear at this time, in part because Delaware voters are electing a new governor on November 4. (See “Voters in 11 States Will Elect Governors in 2008.”)
Delaware’s current governor, Ruth Ann Minner, who is not running for re-election, will serve until 9 a.m., January 20, 2009. If the Democrats win the White House, Biden would be sworn in as vice president at about noon on the same day.
If Biden chooses to resign his Senate seat before January 20, Minner would select his replacement. If Biden defers his resignation until he officially assumes the office of vice president, the new Delaware governor would name the replacement. In the Delaware gubernatorial race, Democrat Jack Markell is a heavy favorite, so the state will likely replace Biden with a Democrat in any event.
