heartbeat away from being (something)

In a position to move into a position immediately upon the absence of one's superior or predecessor (often assumed to mean from death). The position of vice president may not seem important, but whoever it is will be a heartbeat away from being president, so we should take that into account when voting.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Emma	EM-ə (English), EM-mah (Finnish), E-mah (German)	English, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Dutch, German, An
Mariami	-	Georgian
Walton	WAWL-tən	English
Miloslava	-	Czech, Medieval Slavic
Yirmiyahu	-	Biblical Hebrew
Kirabo	-	Eastern African, Ganda