Biden running mate? Women preferred...
US presidential hopeful’s former rivals are well ahead in the race, writes Reid J Epstein
With former vice-president Joe Biden now holding an all but insurmountable lead over Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary contest, many Democrats have shifted their attention to a favourite quadrennial parlour game: the vice-presidential search.
Mr Biden has shown his hand in a big and unusual way for a front-runner, saying he would pick a woman as a running mate. That has opened the path for Democratic officials to start picking favorites — from a socially safe distance.
In discussions with The Times since Mr Biden’s big primary victories on Tuesday, 60 Democratic National Committee members and congressional and party leaders most frequently proposed three former rivals of Mr Biden as his running mate — Sen Kamala Harris of California, Sen Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Sen Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Next up was Stacey Abrams, a former state House leader whose defeat in 2018 Georgia governor’s race remains disputed by many in the party.
Other popular suggestions included Sen Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Rep Val Demings of Florida. The Democrats interviewed also proposed seven other women, including Govs Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.
While de facto presidential nominees typically keep their list of potential running mates closely held, Mr Biden has helped fuel speculation by eagerly rattling off names for months — nearly all of them women. Even his wife, Jill, offered her take in a private fundraiser earlier this month, praising Sen Klobuchar and criticising Sen Harris’ debate stage attack on her husband last summer.
Mr Biden, at various points, has suggested he might choose Ms Abrams, Sen Klobuchar, Sen Jeanne Shaheen and Sen Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire or Sally Yates, the former assistant attorney-general whom President Donald Trump fired three years ago.
A female vice-president would be historic: Only two women — Geraldine Ferraro of New York in 1984 and Sarah Palin of Alaska in 2008 — have been nominated, and none have ever served in the White House. That barrier-breaking appeal could give Mr Biden’s candidacy a shot of energy, an acknowledgment of the role women have played in boosting the party during the Trump era.
Prominent Democratic activists, officials and leaders have been vocal with their desires that the ticket include a woman, after the demise of the last major female candidate, Sen Warren, who has ended her campaign.
“I’ve been predicting a woman on the ticket since 2017 and demanding it since Warren dropped out,” said Christine Pelosi, a DNC member from San Francisco and the daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “It’s really important to have the ability to lead America in the depression we will enter if we don’t flatten the curve and find a cure. The best pick is the woman Joe or Bernie trusts the most to be president and commander-in-chief.”
Some of the party’s most liberal members and supporters of Mr Sanders suggested that choosing Sen Warren, a fellow liberal, would help Mr Biden appeal to the progressive and young voters who have backed the Vermont senator in the primary. Choosing a moderate like Sen Klobuchar, they say, would dampen general election enthusiasm.
“Whoever ends up the nominee should pick Sen Warren,” said Tefere Gebre, a DNC member from Maryland who is executive vice president of the AFL-CIO. “I would be less enthusiastic if it’s the senator from Minnesota.”
Yet, with the coronavirus upending every part of American society, including the presidential campaign, Mr Biden may be forced to deviate from the standard playbook.
Mr Biden’s running mate pick will be viewed through the lens of a public health and economic crisis, perhaps raising the stock of candidates who have more experience, or pushing him to consider someone from outside of government.
“You could imagine some highly successful person from a different walk of life being considered, and that could expand the list a lot,” said John Podesta, who as Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman was involved in her vice-presidential search. “A college president or a medical professional, somebody who would send a pretty powerful signal that what you care about is strength, performance, a commitment to facts and sound decision-making.”