US polls: Why running mate pick matters more this year

Joe Biden has committed to selecting a woman and is considering Blacks

New York, Aug. 10: For all the secrecy and speculation that typically surrounds the search for a vice presidential candidate, the decision rarely sways an election. But ahead of Joe Biden’s imminent announcement, this year could be different. At a minimum, the decision will shift the force of the campaign — at least temporarily — away from Donald Trump’s turbulent presidency onto Biden himself.

That’s not a place many Democrats are comfortable given Biden’s proclivity for gaffes and the persistent lack of excitement behind his candidacy.

More fundamentally, the choice offers Biden an unusual opportunity to unify a party still reeling from Trump’s 2016 win and solidify its future. He’s already committed to selecting a woman and is considering several Black women. And since the 77year-old Biden has not committed to seeking a second term, his running mate could be strongly positioned to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2024 and shape national politics for the next decade.

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who served as Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential nominee in 2016, said Biden’s decision “may be the most closely held and personally driven vice presidential pick ever”.

“Nobody knows this job better than Joe Biden and nobody did the job better than Biden, so he’s gonna really control this one on his own,” Kaine said in an interview. He pushed back against those who discount the impact of running mates, estimating he added about 2 percentage points to Clinton’s winning margin of 5 percentage points in Virginia.

While Biden has said a top priority is selecting someone who could step into the presidency on Day One, the politics of the moment have pushed the silver-haired white man to the brink of making history. He could become the first presidential nominee of a major party to select a woman of colour.

Last weekend, he met privately with Michigan

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who’s white.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who also is white, has been a leading contender. Biden’s campaign team has been in recent contact with a small group of finalists that includes at least four women of colour: California Sen. Kamala Harris, former national security adviser Susan Rice, California Rep. Karen Bass and Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth.