What would happen if Trump quit the presidential race?

What may have started as wishful thinking by some has now become  a burning question on the minds of many, according to Google Trends.

What would happens if Donald Trump calls it quits and exits the 2016 presidential race?

As Trump’s numbers continue to sag and turmoil plagues his campaign, the internet search giant recorded a spike in interest in the search term earlier this month.

The right-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial board tossed more fuel on the fire this week when it published a scathing op-ed calling on Trump to mature his campaign style or hand the nomination to his running mate, Mike Pence.

So what would happen in the extremely unlikely scenario of Trump quitting the race? We took a look.

Can Trump give Pence the nomination?

If Trump did choose to exit, a messy transition would ensue.

“I don’t think he’s going to step aside,” Alex Keyssar, a political historian at Harvard University, told Business Insider.

But the fact that people are even suggesting that Trump should, Keyssar said, has never happened before at the presidential level.

“This is the first time any such discussion has really occurred,” he said.

If Trump did decide to drop out, Pence would not automatically receive the Republican nomination, Ballotpedia’s Charles Aull, an expert on the presidential race and its many rules, told Business Insider.

The GOP would have to go through a formal process.

How could the GOP replace Trump?

The Republican National Committee’s rules say it can fill any candidate vacancies that occur because of “death, declination, or otherwise” by either reconvening all 2,472 delegates to vote at another convention, or by letting its 168-member body decide via majority vote.

Who would replace him?

If this happened, Aull said, choosing Pence would be the least controversial option (as opposed to former presidential nominees Governor John Kasich or Senator Ted Cruz), because he was already approved by Trump and chosen at the convention.

This choice could give some Republicans a sense of relief, Keyssar said, encouraging some voters who don’t want to vote for the candidates from either party a reason to cast their ballots on election day instead of staying home.

Is it too late to get rid of Trump?

This formal re-selection process would take at least a couple weeks, though, and time is ticking down to election day.

Most states have their own ballot deadlines for presidential elections so people casting absentee ballots can vote for the correct candidates.

That means that if the RNC replaces Trump, his name could still appear on the ballot in some states — and not the new nominee selected by the party. This could be incredibly confusing for voters who would want to vote for Pence, but would have to select Trump on the ballot, political scientist Josh Putnam told the Washington Post.

What if the party replaces Trump too late?

If Republicans win states where the filing deadlines have passed, the RNC would likely have to appeal to the courts in order to give the new nominee the votes cast for Trump, Aull said.

What if Trump steps aside the the day after the election?

We have a constitution for that one.

The 20th Amendment says: “If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified.”

Could the RNC say ‘You’re Fired’?

Click here to read more details on what would happen if if Trump quit the presidential race or the RNC decides that enough is enough and tells Trump ‘YOU’RE FIRED’.