If she were forced to withdraw from the race due to a pending investigation of her emails, would that give other potential candidates incentive to jump into the race? Or would Sanders win the nomination automatically? Discuss.
depends upon timing, doesn't it? If it happens now, then there's a desperate scramble to find a suitable alternative to satisfy the right wing of the democratic party. If it happens in the summer, then I think the specifics vary by state. Generally the delegates are bound by law to vote on the first ballot for the candidate they were pledged to, but if the candidate formally drops out--which would be the case--then the delegates are released from obligation and they will be free to vote at will. She could formally endorse some candidate but state laws generally do not require delegates to vote for that endorsed candidate. In that case probably no candidate would have a majority of delegates going in to the convention. Then again, she may not drop out if indicted. In that case the DNC might decide that their nominee cannot be someone under indictment for violating federal law. That would be a really interesting convention. I assume that a draft-Biden faction, a pro-Sanders faction, and WeStandWithHillary faction would wage all-out war for the nomination, with delegates being confused about what they can or should do and Anderson Cooper and Shepperd Smith doing 24-hour vigils, excitedly reporting in their pajamas and stocking caps.
Now, let's say she gets indicted after the democrat national convention, and for the sake of argument, let's say she has already been nominated. What then? I guess she could step down and endorse her running mate, who then chooses a new running mate. I'd have to imagine any of these scenarios would ensure a Republican victory in November, no matter whom they nominate.
None of it is very likely. The FBI is conducting an administrative, not criminal, review of her email server, and they have said it does not currently focus on Clinton personally. That might conceivably lead to a criminal investigation, but they have had the server in their possession since July, and so far have taken no further steps to initiate a criminal investigation.
