Biden faces pressure as running mate search continues
DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Joe Biden is facing pressure from contending groups inside his party as he prepares to interview a shortlist of women for the most important hire of his political career: His running mate.
Biden, who committed to choosing a woman for the job he held for eight years under President Barack Obama, said this week he expected the background vetting process to conclude around July 24. He would then interview each finalist before making a decision, expected by early August.
The selection of the vice presidential candidate has taken on outsize importance this year, reflecting the desperation to defeat Republican President Donald Trump among Democrats, who have agonised over which candidate would give Biden the biggest boost in the November 3 election. Biden leads in national and battleground-state opinion polls as voters fault Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the subsequent economic recession and race relations.
Adding to the weight of Biden’s choice is his age, he would be 78 at his January inauguration, making him the oldest US president, setting up his vice president as an early frontrunner for the 2024 race should he serve only one term.
“There’s a lot of attention on this for a number of reasons, not least of which that Vice President Biden is 77 years old,” former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.
Reid, who has had several conversations about the topic with Biden, said the list narrowed in recent weeks but remained fairly large.
The women under serious consideration include Senators
Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth; US Representatives Val Demings and Karen Bass; former US National Security Adviser Susan Rice; New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham; and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, according to interviews with Democratic officials.
Harris cemented herself early on as a favourite after dropping her presidential bid, particularly among top fundraisers, who have Biden’s ear and tend to be more centrist. Online betting site
PredictIt puts her odds of being picked at 41 percent, far higher than any of the other candidates on the list.
The Biden campaign declined to comment on the search. In making his choice, Biden has to balance many factors, including ideology, race and ethnicity, as well as candidates’ ability to raise money, create enthusiasm and fulfil the traditional vice presidential “attack dog” role by going after Trump.
Alex Heckler, a member of Biden’s national finance committee who backs Harris as running mate, said the ideal candidate given Trump’s “bogus” allegations about Biden’s lack of mental stamina would be someone who could attack Trump’s shortcomings and be qualified to serve as president if needed.
Perhaps the biggest question facing Biden is whether to select a Black woman following national protests over racial injustice following the police killing of George Floyd, an African American, in Minneapolis. Warren is the only white candidate on the shortlist, which includes five Black women as well as Grisham, who is Latina, and Duckworth, who is Asian American. “As I am witnessing what is happening in this country right now, I am more convinced than ever that Joe Biden needs a Black woman as his vice presidential candidate,” said LaTosha Brown, a co-founder of the advocacy group Black Voters Matter.
Leah Daughtry, a Democratic official who ran the 2008 convention that nominated Obama, the country’s first Black president, has also lobbied Biden and top campaign officials like Anita Dunn to pick a Black woman. — Al Jazeera