If that knockin' on heaven's door Sen. Byrd - D - West Virginia passes during another one of his incoherent speeches who will replace him?
2006-12-05 07:43:24 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The 17th Amendment states that vacancies in the Senate will be filled by a special election, which is generally at the next general election date.
Furthermore, the amendment allows the states to authorize the Governor to appoint an acting Senator to serve until the special election is held. All states, except for Alaska and Arizona, extend that power to the Governor.
So, to answer your question, if Senator Byrd died today, the Governor of West Virginia, would name a person to serve as Senator until an election could be held in November of 2008. Since the current governor is a Democrat, it's likely that the person he'd appoint would also be a Democrat.
2006-12-05 07:59:43 · answer #1 · answered by Teekno 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The governor of the state appoints a replacement until an election.
2006-12-05 15:46:32 · answer #2 · answered by American citizen and taxpayer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There will be a special election in his district and both parties will get a chance to quickly pull a candidate and a campaign. I am with you about Byrd being close to death...it's funny to watch him during the committee hearings - he's SOOO old! Ha!
2006-12-05 15:47:15 · answer #3 · answered by sillycanuckpei 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Governor appoints a replacement to serve for the remainder of his/her term.
2006-12-05 15:55:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The governor of the state.
2006-12-05 15:58:03 · answer #5 · answered by The Scorpion 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So make sure your Governor is a Democrat before you pull the trigger or make that phone call to the ethics committee!
2006-12-05 15:48:03 · answer #6 · answered by scottyurb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The governor does.
2006-12-05 15:53:29 · answer #7 · answered by Senator D 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
their spouse gets first shot at it. at that point i think the governor of most states can appoint a temporary.
2006-12-05 15:48:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋