The presidential election is under 3 months away and it is still unclear who will be Joe Biden’s VP. The former Vice President has a short list of possible running mates with all of them being women. He had said throughout his primary campaign that he would do this and it appears he’s keeping up with that promise.
In most elections, the VP position is not very important. The Vice President does not do much besides preside over the Senate and vote over tie-breakers. But in the case of this cycle, Joe Biden’s VP selection is crucial. His choice will have to prove that they (she) can be able to hold the highest office at any given moment due to Biden’s age and uncertainty.
Because Biden has chosen to have a female as his running mate, this drastically reduces the size of the field. Amy Klobuchar was a top choice for many reasons including her moderate appearance and being the senior Senator from Minnesota. Her appeal to working class rust belt voters could have been a huge boost for Biden in flipping back those states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. However, Klobuchar dropped her name from consideration during the George Floyd riots citing that a woman of color should be the VP.
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So, who are the four top choices? The list includes three members of Congress and a former official from the Obama administration.
4. Karen Bass- Representative from CA-37
Bass has represented the city of Los Angeles in Congress for nearly a decade. She was also the Speaker of the California House of Representatives from February 2008 until January 2011. An outsider in the VP race, she could sneak into the position if events cause other front-runners to be removed from consideration.
Bass is also no fan of our current president and even formed a petition in the months leading up to the 2016 Election to have President Trump take a medical evaluation. The evaluation was to determine if he had Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and possibly cause him to be extremely self-righteous.
3. Tammy Duckworth- Senator from Illinois
The junior senator from Illinois is the only non-African American woman on this list. Duckworth is a former lieutenant colonel in the Army who lost both her legs in combat. She was first elected to the Senate in 2016 defeating the incumbent Republican. Despite being born in Thailand, Duckworth is qualified to hold the office of the President because her father was an American citizen. Though she was born overseas, she is still considered a natural-born citizen.
Duckworth made headlines last months when she conflicted with Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The conflict rose when Duckworth said there should be a debate over removing states of notable figures like George Washington. Carlson attacked her for that and said that she hates the country and what it is founded on. The argument went back and forth for days but the Senator refused to go on Carlson’s show.
2. Susan Rice- Former Obama Official and Advisor
Rice is a member of the inside democratic establishment trending up rapidly. Some have even considered her the new favorite over the top choice on this list. She is a former top official in the Obama administration who served as an Ambassador to the United Nations as well as a National Security Advisor. Rice was also a member of Bill Clinton’s administration including as a member of the National Security Council from 1993-97.
Her foreign policy experience and resume are large and this will boost her chances of the VP nomination. However, Rice does not have a lot of domestic policy experience and she has never been elected to public office. She has also been in some controversy in recent history involving Michael Flynn and the Russia probe (a very long story which we won’t get into today). Overall, Rice is a strong choice and there’s a good chance she is the VP. But, the #1 on this list still appears to be the favorite.
1. Kamala Harris- Senator from California
Harris has been one of the top choices to be Joe Biden’s VP from the start. She has been the junior senator from California since 2016 after previously serving as the state’s attorney general for 6 years. Harris has a long history working in criminal defense as she also served as the district attorney in San Francisco for 7 years. After dropping out of the 2020 Democratic Primary, she endorsed Biden and campaigned with him in key Super Tuesday states like her home state of California.
Of the 4 choices on this list, Harris is probably the best option even if she’s not the best overall (Klobuchar). She has high name recognition from being in the Senate and her presidential campaign. The 55-year old is already a frontrunner for the 2024 nomination. If she does not get the VP nod, it’s likely she will find some type of role in a Biden administration possibly as an attorney general.