If Biden retired early and Harris became the incumbent President heading into the next election...

[ShadowRocket]

Would this improve her chances getting elected in her own right with the advantage of incumbency?

I've seen this idea kicked around before, but I'm not sure such a scenario would improve her chances.

[dw93]

I'm inclined to say yes, but it depends on the circumstances that lead to Biden's resignation. As a non incumbent, I think she'd be favored only against Trump. Against any other Republican nominee, unless said nominee is someone like MTG, I think the GOP would be favored.

[Sir Mohamed]

I'm inclined to say yes, but it depends on the circumstances that lead to Biden's resignation. As a non incumbent, I think she'd be favored only against Trump. Against any other Republican nominee, unless said nominee is someone like MTG, I think the GOP would be favored.

What makes you believe she'd be favored against Trump and not other GOPers? I don't like to say it, but Trump is certainly still one of the strongest GOP candidates because of his loyal following. He has twice exceeded expectations by a significant margin. DeSantis or someone else could be a formidable opponent, but only under certain circumstances. At least I haven't seen a compelling argument why he (or any GOPer) is so much stronger than Trump. Other GOP candidates may win back a smaller share of Romney voters, but a ton of Trump voters only vote R because of him and not out of any party loyalty.

[Mr.Phips]

I'm inclined to say yes, but it depends on the circumstances that lead to Biden's resignation. As a non incumbent, I think she'd be favored only against Trump. Against any other Republican nominee, unless said nominee is someone like MTG, I think the GOP would be favored.

What makes you believe she'd be favored against Trump and not other GOPers? I don't like to say it, but Trump is certainly still one of the strongest GOP candidates because of his loyal following. He has twice exceeded expectations by a significant margin. DeSantis or someone else could be a formidable opponent, but only under certain circumstances. At least I haven't seen a compelling argument why he (or any GOPer) is so much stronger than Trump. Other GOP candidates may win back a smaller share of Romney voters, but a ton of Trump voters only vote R because of him and not out of any party loyalty.

This.  Trump is actually the Republicans’ strongest candidate.

[Del Tachi]

If the resignation is seen as too gimmicky, it confirms the GOP talking point that getting Biden elected was always just a play by the "deep state" to get Kalifornia Kommie Kamala in.   

[Make America Grumpy Again]

This could slightly help Harris as she'd have an incumency advantage and a lot of right-wing conspiracy theories could be debunked, but I'd say Trump or whoever runs against Harris still has an advantage unless the economy/Covid improves.