...I'm supporting Warren out of sheer pragmatism. Get rid of Trump, and I would almost assuredly flip to Mayor Pete. I also like Kamala, a lot. But Mayor Pete for sure.

If Trump is removed the balance tips against the Dems. MAGAts will be looking for revenge (watch out Senators who voted to remove him), but it will be a more normal GE for Democrats.

are certainly weighing that in their minds. I'm hoping that Democrats vote as if Trump were still in office. We need to do that, to send a clear, unmistakable message for the future.

Per 538, 42% of likely / registered voters approve of trump today ... that number has barely changed since January 2017. It crushes my spirit. I hope the 54% who disprove, remember what we are going through.

Other factors are more important although impeachment will definitely hurt the trump in the general.

the Republican platform wouldn't change much, if at all. I would probably still support Biden during the primaries.

Whatever happens, the Democratic nominee will win my vote.

Trump's base would be furious, and they'd take it out on their Republican candidates. I don't see my choice of primary candidate changing.

- they would be even more furious against the Dem Nominee after the RNC convention pins the blame on him or her.

for a number of reasons, so we'll be facing Kasich, Romney, or someone else without the stench of Trump.

That's a whole new ball game. Many anti-Trump voters will reassess and could very well go for the R. We have to be careful to not go too far left-- Warren or Sanders could easily scare off too many moderate voters. I know that sounds scandalous to many people around here, but that's life outside DU.

And, a third party race could be a lot worse than a joke-- no third party candidate has ever won, and without Trump to hate, guess where they'll siphon the votes from...

...but not much. Pence running is a joke. His sycophancy to Trump will sink him early on.

Can you imagine if trump resigns, with health issues or something, shortly before the party conventions after we've been running against trump for 8 more months or so.

By the time of the convention, though, it won't matter, since the delegates will have been selected, based on primary and caucus results. So, that wouldn't have much of an impact on who became the Democratic nominee.

I guess I'm thinking more about Trump leaving ahead of the primaries and caucuses. That could alter the outcome of the Democratic primary race, perhaps.

Trump will continue to play a role in the general election campaigns, whether he's on the ballot or not.

This country needs, and deserves, a return to normalcy, at home and abroad. That's what Dems need to keep pushing, whether tRump is there or not. Same against Pence. Now, if Romney jumps into the fray, that may become a bit more worrisome.

You have to hope most citizens are sick and tired of rethug corruption and shenanigans. They have continued to support tRump. I'm thinking that's why Romney is doing what he's doing now. I wouldn't be surprised if he runs as an alternative to tRump, if he's still in office.

which candidate is most likely to beat Trump. That's definitely my attitude; I'm setting ideology aside in favor of pragmatism and will vote for any genuine Dem with a pulse. If Trump goes and Pence remains, some GOP voters who had come to dislike Trump and might have stayed home or even voted for a Dem might be more comfortable with Pence (who is conventionally awful but probably not criminally insane). The GOP PTBs will back him, and of course the fundies will support him. But he has all the charisma of cold oatmeal, so many of the MAGAts whom Trump was able to whip into a frenzy of enthusiastic hate might stay home.

Pence will have the advantage of party support but the disadvantage of a lack of charisma, and he will also carry the stank of Trump on him. He would probably choose a far-right mouth-breather as his running mate to turn out the MAGAt vote. So I think our candidate will have to be someone who is positive and enthusiastic (Pence is neither; he's both boring and depressing), and their campaign would have to emphasize both the positive outcomes promised by the Dem platform and the fact that Pence was always the faithful remora attached to Trump's ass and he is still tainted by Trump's acts and policies.

I still would enthusiastically support any of the top five Democrats, but I'd especially like to see Buttigieg debate Pence.

evangelical Right. He is emotionless and blank, though, in his public persona. I don't think he'd have a chance in Hell of winning the Presidency. He's just not there, wherever he is.

He will, absolutely, pardon Trump if Trump resigns or is removed. That will royally piss off a wide range of people.

which has been the centerpiece of his campaign since the day he announced. It presumes he will be running against Trump. To his credit, though, he still talks strongly about lots of other stuff. I'm not sure about how balanced his campaign ads are in that resepct, I haven't seen any. But it's early.