During Sunday night’s Democratic debate, former vice president Joe Biden promised to choose a woman as his running mate, while Sanders said he would “in all likelihood” do so.Biden and Sanders, both older white men, are the only Democratic candidates left from a historically diverse slate of primary candidates.They’re facing calls from some Democrats to not just choose a woman, but a woman of color.Proponents argue that diversity on the ticket is important not only for representation and progress, but electorally as well.Turning out black and Latino voters — core communities in the Democratic electorate — will be vital for the party in November.Politicians like California Sen. Kamala Harris, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Florida Rep. Val Demings, and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto and more have been floated as potential VP picks.Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
During last night’s Democratic debate, former vice president Joe Biden made some news: He promised to choose a woman as his running mate should he win the Democratic nomination.—CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 16, 2020″I would pick a woman to be my vice president,” Biden said.Sanders, when asked if he would make the same pledge, said he would “in all likelihood” choose a woman, but added that it was important that his running mate also have progressive politics.Both candidates have indicated in the past they’d seriously consider naming a female vice president, but the conversation was never as stark as it was Sunday night. Their responses — especially Biden’s — set off a flurry of discussion on Twitter, where Democrats and political watchers sounded off on their predictions and choices. Some speculated that Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, both experienced former 2020 contenders, would be the smartest choice.But after a historically diverse field of Democratic candidates narrowed to a contest between older white men, many Democrats believed that not only should the vice presidential nominee be a woman, but she should be a woman of color.
“There are so any incredible Latinas, here are a few suggestions,” Latino Victory tweeted Sunday, along with photos of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar, and New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez.—Latino Victory (@latinovictoryus) March 16, 2020″Did someone say Vice President?” tweeted the Higher Heights for America political action committee, along with photos of California Sen. Kamala Harris, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Florida Rep. Val Demings, and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice.—Higher Heights PAC (@HigherHeightPAC) March 16, 2020″We started this campaign cycle with the most diverse slate of presidential candidates,” Mayra Macías, executive director of Latino Victory, told Insider. “For us, it’s very important to make sure that our presidential ticket reflects that diversity, and the excitement that came with that diversity.”The organization, which endorsed Joe Biden in February, had already been proactively compiling a list of possible vice presidential and cabinet picks. And on Sunday night, when Biden made his declaration, Latino Victory was ready with a slate of highly qualified nominees.”An all white ticket is a loser.”
While Sanders and Biden continue to duke it out for the Democratic nomination, Biden’s definitive announcement on Sunday night means that politicos have speculated most about which woman he would choose as a running mate.If either man follows through, their running mate would not be the first woman chosen for the role; that would be Geraldine Ferraro, who was picked by Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale in 1984.Adding a woman of color to the ticket, however, would make history. And many Democrats believe it would also make a lot of electoral sense.Advocates of a diverse ticket say that choosing a person of color for the Democratic ticket will be key to turning out the constituencies that make up the Democratic party in November.”The lesson learned from 2016 is that an all white ticket is a loser,” said Aimee Allison of She The People, an organization that seeks to connect and elect women of color.
Allison told Insider that choosing a woman of color as a running mate “is the most important thing” for either Biden or Sanders in order to “fully reach an inspire the full breadth of the Democratic Party and elevate turnout.”Before Sunday night’s debate, Rep. Jim Clyburn, a key backer of Biden’s in South Carolina who is credited with helping him to a blowout victory in the state’s primary, told Axios on HBO, “I would advise him that we need to have a woman on the ticket, and I prefer an African American woman.”Black women are the Democratic Party’s most loyal voters, and black voters in South Carolina were key to propelling Biden from 2020 underdog to current frontrunner. One Democratic strategist working to elect Biden said that choosing a running mate like Harris would be a boon in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, where black voters in cities such as Philadelphia and Detroit would be key to reclaiming these states for the Democrats.Macías said that energizing Latino voters was critical for Democrats, as an estimated 32 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in the 2020 election, according to the Pew Research Center. Many of these voters are concentrated in vital states like Nevada, Texas, Arizona, and Florida.
To turn out these voters, Macías said Biden would benefit from “someone who’s on the ticket to go into the community and speak to [Biden’s] message, be a face for our community that is at the table in this campaign.”Some potential running mates for Biden include Harris, Abrams, Cortez Masto, Demings, and more.”Because women of color are so central, we see the campaigns floating names,” Allison said, noting that she’d seen Abrams and Harris’ name coming up a lot on lists of speculative vice presidential nominees.Clyburn named Harris, Abrams, Demings, and Rice, along with Rep. Marcia Fudge, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as potential running mates for Biden.The Democratic strategist said that Harris would likely “be at the top of that list.” In the event that the 77-year-old Biden could not fulfill his presidential duties, a “transition into a presidency will be a lot more seamless for her” due to her her Senate experience, he said.
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, a former attorney general and the first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate, already has experience and national appeal. And as a representative of a vital Democratic battleground, Macías argued, she would be a smart addition to the ticket.Read More: 5 highlights from the Democratic debate between Bernie Sanders and Joe BidenJoe Biden commits during CNN debate to picking a woman as vice president, while Bernie Sanders says he would ‘in all likelihood’Who Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders might be considering for VP picks
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Bernie Sanders
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2020 election
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