Talk to anyone who knows anything about Joe Biden’s vice presidential picking process and they’ll all tell you the same thing: It’s Sens. Kamala Harris (California) and Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota) — and then everyone else.
As in, the Top 10 is really, a Top 2.
Today, at least.
As CNN’s Jeff Zeleny and Dan Merica wrote earlier this week:
“Joe Biden says he has his eye on a dozen women as potential running mates, but those close to him believe the list of top prospects is likely far shorter as a deep vetting process gets underway to determine whether he needs to expand his circle of serious contenders.”
They also reported that Biden is consulting with former President Barack Obama regularly about the process — and has studied the model that led Obama to pick him in 2008. That blueprint — pick a former rival for the nomination with whom you developed some chemistry — puts Klobuchar and Harris right at the front of the pack.
Now, being the front-runner to be vice president in May is far from a guarantee that you will wind up as the ultimate pick — as Point-er Lauren Dezenski noted this week. If it were, Donald Trump would have picked Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his running mate in 2016. And Hillary Clinton would have picked Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Still, when handicapping the state of the veepstakes right now, there’s no question that Harris and Klobuchar are in a leading pack that has put some distance between themselves and the other eight women on my list.
Speaking of the rankings, let’s get to them! And reminder, former first lady Michelle Obama is not included because she has given zero indication that she would actually accept the VP nomination if it were offered. (You can see last week’s rankings here.)
10. Tammy Duckworth: The Illinois senator appears to be making a concerted effort to raise her profile amid the VP search. One recent example: She did an interview with “The View” this week in which she heavily criticized the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and answered questions about her own political future. “I’m sure that they have their own process as to how they’re going to select their vice president and I will leave them to it,” Duckworth said of the Biden veepstakes. (Previous ranking: 10)
9. Stacey Abrams: The former Georgia gubernatorial nominee officially endorsed Biden earlier this week — kind of late, no? — and sought to clarify her past comments that she would not be interested in being his VP.
“If folks pay attention to my answer from March, all the way through the last few weeks I’ve never wavered,” Abrams said. “I’ve always said you don’t run for second place in a primary, but I would be honored to serve with the nominee, and that remains true.” (Previous ranking: 9)
8. Val Demings: Biden confirmed that the Florida congresswoman is in the mix to be his VP in an interview late last week with a Florida TV station.
“She is one of a group of close to a dozen really qualified and talented women who are, are on the list,” Biden said of Demings, adding: “She’s a very competent, very capable person.” Demings is also a woman of color with a base in one of the major population centers of one of the swingiest states in the country. (Previous ranking: 8)
7. Gretchen Whitmer: The Michigan governor was taking part in a Covid-19 roundtable with Biden on Thursday — evidence that she has become a major player in the national response to the virus. (She has also become a major target for protesters and Trump.) Whitmer’s biggest problem is still that most Democrats don’t know much about her. In a CNN poll released this week more than 6 in 10 didn’t know enough to offer an opinion about her. (Previous ranking: 7)
6. Susan Rice: In terms of experience at the highest levels of government, no one on this list can come close to Rice — who spent time in the Obama administration as the national security adviser and US ambassador to the United Nations. The problem for Rice is, well, she’s been involved at the highest levels of government for a long time. Meaning that she will have to deal with questions about her response to the Benghazi attacks of 2012 and the recent “unmasking” reporting on retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. There’s baggage there. Does Biden want to willingly carry it? (Previous ranking: 5)
5. Keisha Lance Bottoms: The Atlanta mayor has been in the spotlight in recent days as the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in southern Georgia has become a massive national news story. “It’s heartbreaking that it’s 2020 and this was a lynching of an African American man,” Lance Bottoms told CNN’s Jake Tapper this week. Her emergence on this story — as well as her role as the foil to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in the ongoing debate over when to reopen the state — has made KLB much more of a household name to the average Democrat. (Previous ranking: 6)
4. Catherine Cortez Masto: Buzz around Cortez Masto has subsided somewhat of late, but she still makes a ton of sense on paper: Latina, senator and from a Southwestern swing state. (Previous ranking: 3)
3. Elizabeth Warren: It’s hard to ignore just how popular Warren is among the Democratic base. Seven in 10 Democratic voters have a favorable opinion of her in the new CNN poll while just 19% have an unfavorable view. That follows on a CBS poll last week that showed 7 in 10 Democrats thought Warren should be considered as Biden’s VP — the largest percentage for any of the possible 2020 running mates. As I noted above, just because Warren is popular doesn’t mean that she will be the pick. But it does make her hard for the Biden team to not vet. (Previous ranking: 4)
2. Amy Klobuchar: The Minnesota senator is the pick if geographic and ideological considerations win out for Biden. She’s from the Midwest and prides herself on the sort of centrist pragmatism he also embraces. But if Biden wants to diversify the ticket as much as he can — picking a woman of color or an unapologetic liberal — then Klobuchar is likely on the outside looking in. (Previous ranking: 2)
1. Kamala Harris: There’s no question that the California senator sits atop the pile right now. And, as Politico’s Christopher Cadelago noted in a terrific piece on Harris, the hard feelings over her attack on Biden’s record on busing appear to have faded as Biden and those close to him write it off to the give and take of a contested primary campaign. Harris, simply put, checks the most boxes for Biden. (Previous ranking: 1)
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Author: Patrick Perron