Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Biden Resignation Update

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

On Monday we noted that Biden has said in pre-election interviews (although not confirmed post-election) that he wouldn't resign until Inauguration Day, Jan 20. That begged the question, who would get to make the appointment. We have an answer:

ABC News has learned that Delaware's newly elected Democratic governor is planning to take the oath of office at 12:01 a.m. ET on Jan. 20, 2009, making it possible for him to name Vice President-elect Joe Biden's replacement to the United States Senate. Whether Governor-elect Jack Markell (D) gets to name Biden's Senate replacement will ultimately turn on whether the Vice President-elect makes good on his stated intention to wait until the moment he becomes Vice President to resign from the U.S. Senate.
We'll know who appoints him if Biden resigns on Jan 20.

But if he does resign on Jan 20, this scenario leads to another possible replacement: Current Governor Ruth Ann Minner.

And if Minner gets the appointment, she would likely not run for re-election, allowing Beau Biden to then run for the seat in 2010. (Beau Biden announced earlier today that he would not accept an appointment to his father's seat, which makes sense as he is leaving shortly for a tour of duty in Iraq).