NBC News
Chuck Todd and Mark Murray and Carrie Dann and Melissa Holzberg
May 4th 2020 10:05AM
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden’s selection of a running mate matters more than any other VP pick we can remember — because of Biden’s age, because of the coronavirus, and because it could eventually produce the nation’s first female president.
Remember, Biden has guaranteed he’ll choose a woman to be his No. 2.
“Joe being 77, I think people are going to look to see who is the person who could be the next president,†former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tells the New York Times.
Below is our early breakdown — in alphabetical order — of some of the top contenders to be Biden’s running mate. (Note: This isn’t an exhaustive list, and we’ll be breaking down more VP possibilities in the coming days.)
And some questions to ponder: How do you define experience in this Coronavirus Era? Is executive experience the only experience that matters? Can Biden really pick a sitting governor who’s handling the coronavirus in her state? And can he afford to pick a sitting senator who could be replaced — even temporarily — by a Republican?
Stacey Abrams (former Georgia House minority leader)
Strengths: She’s a dynamic campaigner and speaker, and she has the potential to galvanize African American voters. At 46 years of age, she would give youth to the Democratic ticket and would represent the next generation for the Democratic Party. She hails from an emerging battleground state in the important Sun Belt (Georgia), and she was born in arguably the most important battleground state of 2020 (Wisconsin).
Weaknesses: At a time when governing experience is more valued than ever in this Coronavirus Era, Abrams’ highest level of government service was as the minority leader in Georgia’s state House. She narrowly lost her one bid for statewide office when she ran for governor in 2018. And because she didn’t run for president in 2020, Abrams hasn’t been vetted nationally – either on her issue positions (she isn’t a backer of Medicare for All, for example) or her past controversies (like delinquent taxes).
Catherine Cortez Masto (U.S. senator, Nevada)
Strengths: As a Latina, she’d add a woman of color to the Democratic ticket. Cortez Masto hails from battleground Nevada, and she won her Senate seat getting 47 percent of the vote in 2016. She’s 56 years old, so she’s a generation younger than Biden.
Weaknesses: She hasn’t been vetted nationally and doesn’t have wide name recognition. She also currently serves as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is charged with winning back the Senate in 2020, and so Biden picking her as his vice president could set that effort back.
Kamala Harris (U.S. senator, California)
Strengths: Like Stacey Abrams, Harris has the potential to excite African-American voters and fulfill the request by Democrats like James Clyburn and John Lewis for Biden to pick a woman of color as VP. Unlike Abrams, she’s been vetted on a national scale and has won statewide office twice. And at age 55, Harris also would represent the next generation for Democrats.
Weaknesses: Ultimately, her presidential campaign fizzled, and she dropped out of the race on Dec.3. Harris hails from California, so a Biden-Harris ticket would be coastal (Delaware + California). Activists on the left unhappy with Biden’s criminal justice record likely wouldn’t be assuaged by his selection of Harris, who is also viewed by some liberals as having been insufficiently progressive during her time as a prosecutor and as California’s attorney general.
Amy Klobuchar (U.S. senator, Minnesota)
Strengths: Hailing from the Midwest, she would give a Biden ticket geographical diversity. Klobuchar has been a proven winner in Minnesota – a state Hillary Clinton carried by just 1.5 points in 2016 – getting 60 percent in her 2018 re-election bid. And despite a lack of fundraising and organizational success in her 2020 presidential campaign, Klobuchar ending up faring better and surviving longer than either Kamala Harris or Cory Booker did.
Weaknesses: Like Tim Kaine in 2016, Klobuchar represents the safe governing VP choice – and that kind of move didn’t help Democrats win four years ago. A white, mainstream Democrat, Klobuchar is unlikely to galvanize minority or progressive voters. She continues to be haunted by her “bad boss†reputation after stories surfaced about her mistreatment of staff. And the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP called on Klobuchar to suspend her presidential campaign after an AP investigation raised questions about whether an African-American teenager was wrongly convicted during her tenure as a prosecutor.
Elizabeth Warren (U.S. senator, Massachusetts)
Strengths: If Biden continues to struggle bringing progressive Democrats into the fold, Warren as his VP pick could be an important help. Her policy experience and plans could come in handy during this Coronavirus Era. And she does doesn’t shrink from a big fight.
Weaknesses: She isn’t a go-along, get-along person, which often is a big requirement of the VP job. At age 70,.......
continued at link:
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2020/05/04/bidens-top-potential-running-mates-bring-unique-strengths-and-weaknesses/24195602/
