Biden wants a woman to be his running mate. Here are some
names under consideration
Trevor Hunnicutt, Elizabeth Culliford
APRIL 15, 2020 / 6:21 AM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO
"(Reuters) - Presumptive Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden, who has vowed to pick a woman to join his ticket, said he would appoint a committee this month to help him vet possible running mates.
The former vice president to Barack Obama has said he would consider six to around a dozen candidates, including several of his former rivals for the party’s nomination to face Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. His plan is to select one well before the Democratic convention in August.
Biden, 77, has said the candidate should be someone who could step into the presidency if needed. He also has sought advice from Obama, who formally endorsed Biden on Tuesday.
“He said: ‘Look, one of the things that worked for you and me, Joe, was that I tried to find someone who had experiences or capacity that I didn’t have,’” Biden said of Obama at a fundraising event last week. “And so I’m gonna need a woman vice president who has capacities, has strengths, where I have weaknesses.”
No woman has ever served as vice president, although two - Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and Republican Sarah Palin in 2008 - were major-party nominees for the office.
Here are some women who are likely to be considered, according to people familiar with the process.
Senator Kamala Harris
Biden said he would consider Harris, 55, for the vice presidential position a day after the senator from California ended her own presidential bid in December.
Harris, who was friendly with Biden’s late son, Beau, is aligned with Biden ideologically and is among the country’s most well-known black politicians.
A number of advisers have pressed Biden and the campaign to consider Harris seriously because the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants could help bring out the key Democratic constituency of black voters in a close election.
Yet several Biden confidants have expressed skepticism about Harris’ loyalty, particularly after her cutting criticism of Biden’s record on race during an early Democratic presidential debate.
Senator Amy Klobuchar
The 59-year-old senator from Minnesota defied expectations in the Democratic race with her strong showing in New Hampshire, and her endorsement on the eve of the pivotal Super Tuesday contests on March 3 helped Biden win her home state.
Klobuchar pitched voters on pragmatism and her appeal to independents and moderate Republicans, and some Democratic advisers see her adding to Biden’s potential appeal to the white working-class voters who voted for Trump in 2016.
Picking her as a running mate would be a play to help win important Northern states, including Minnesota, where Democrat Hillary Clinton won by only 1 percentage point in 2016 and which Trump is hoping to flip this year.
Still, some Biden advisers view Minnesota as a state that is less critical to their path to victory than some other Midwestern states, including Wisconsin and Michigan.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer"
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