Heritage Foundation eyes multi-million dollar legal fight against Harris

The Republican Party is already planning to claim the replacement of President Joe Biden with another candidate is illegal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday a legal challenge to the Democratic Party’s expected switch from Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris will be challenged in the courts.

"I think they've got legal hurdles in some of these states," Johnson said on CNN. "And it'll be litigated, I would expect, on the ground there."

Millions of dollars has already been committed to such a challenge from the right-wing group behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation, its representative told Newsweek.

"What would make a state the most difficult for replacement depends on timing and how they [the Democrats] do it," Mike Howell, the executive director of the foundation’s Oversight Project, told the news outlet.

Among the states being eyed for courtroom fights involving the switch in candidate are Wisconsin, Georgia and Nevada.

Harris is by far the favorite to replace Biden after multiple Democrats endorsed her in the hours after Biden announced he was dropping out of the campaign Sunday.

"Three of the expected six most contested states have some potential for preelection litigation aimed at exasperating, with legitimate concerns for election integrity, the withdrawal process for a presidential candidate," a memo shared with Newsweek by Howell read.

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It said several swing states had, "Specific procedures for withdrawal of a presidential nominee with differing degrees of applicability and timelines.

"Wisconsin does not allow withdrawal for any reason besides death.

"Important caveats include the timeline and triggering events. For example, some states allow withdrawal before the 74th day before an election and failure to adhere to these timelines can result in the candidate's name remaining on the ballot.”

The Heritage Foundation’s memo said that, in 31 states, there is likely not a legal challenge to be made.

"At least 31 states defer to state or national party rules and committees for nominating in the event of withdrawal,” it read.

"These states circumvent the substitution process highlighted above. There may be some avenues for challenges to these laws on improper delegation grounds, however, these may be marginally beneficial.”