What would happen if a presidential candidate dies before the election?

Question

Who would take over? the person who is their VP running mate or the person who got the most delegate votes at the convention. What is the protocol?

Everyone is talking about the VP's and how they are a heartbeat away from the presidency but how does that apply to the candidates?

Trust me - I DONT want anything bad to happen!!!! i'm just wondering what happens if say, McCain has a heart attack and dies in the next few weeks? Does Palin take over and run for president? What if Obabma dies? Would Biden run for Pres or would Hillary get the pres nod and she could pick a new VP running mate?

So how is this handled in our system?

Answer 1

It's the party nomination process which allows the presidential electors to break with the prevailing vote and choose a new president.

It doesn't matter though.  as long as there's a 'political fix' in place. No one wins.   they aren't even officially on the Texas ballot and there's rule-bending to "fix" it.

http://blog.bobbarr2008.com/2008/08/27/d...

Answer 2

WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING?? GOOD GRAVY!!! YOU ARE SICK!

Answer 3

Hmmm... probably they would replace and we would vote for the replacements.

Answer 4

ssssssssssooooooo just vote for another one

Answer 5

Yes =o I've been wondering what would happen if (Lets say this was 2 years ago while Bush was still long away from not being president anymore) both Bush and all his vice president people crashed in a plane or anything, who would take over? O_o  

Answer 6

A common question. If it happened, say, next week, the party would hold an emergency convention and pick a new candidate. It would not have to be the vice presidential choice, it could go in any direction.

If a death happened Nov. 1, then it would be rather chaotic, since all of the ballots would be printed. The electors probably would cast ballots for the winning side. If the dead person won, I would guess that the vice president would be elevated and he would nominate someone to be the new vice president. The Senate would have to approve the pick. But that sort of situation might come down to state-by-state rules, and be a mess. Jeff Greenfield wrote an amusing novel once on the death of a President-elect.