2020 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection

Joe Biden picked U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate on August 11, 2020

This article listed possible candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 2020 election.[1]

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive nominee for President of the United States, will choose his running mate at some point before the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[2]

Biden promised to select a woman, which make it the third time in United States history that the vice presidential nominee of a major party has been a woman, after Geraldine Ferraro (1984) and Sarah Palin (2008).[3]

On August 11, 2020 Biden picked U.S. Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate.[4]

Vetting process

Vetting is the process of beginning to search and or hire a person for an important job. In this case, vetting is the process of Biden's campaign looking for a running mate.[5] The Biden campaign was reported to have begun the vetting process of potential running mates in May 2020.[6] In July 2020, Biden said that "I am not committed to naming any but the people I've named, and among them are four Black women".[7]

At first, Biden hoped to announce his running mate the week of August 5, 2020,[8] however his campaign has pushed the announcement date to before the DNC Convention would start, which would be August 16 or before.[1] The New York Times reported on August 10, that an announcement of who Biden picked as his running mate will happen either August 11 or August 12.[9]

His running mate vetting process has been criticized for Biden's campaign alleged "blatant disrespectful" treatment towards black women and sexism.[10][11][12]

Final candidates

On June 26, 2020, CNN and The Washington Post reported that the following five individuals were the leading candidates for the nomination.[13] On July 29, just a week before Biden's planned announcement, The Hill reported that Karen Bass, Harris, Rice, and Warren had emerged as the "top tier" of candidates.[14] On August 2, CNN reported that Tammy Duckworth and Gretchen Whitmer were also still under consideration.[15]

Other individuals considered

The following six individuals were originally cited to have begun undergoing vetting by the Biden campaign in May or June 2020, but it is uncertain whether they have moved on to further stages in subsequent months or not.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Following the George Floyd protests, Amy Klobuchar was criticized for her lack of prosecution of police misconduct during her tenure, including a case involving the officer accused of murdering Floyd.[31][32][33] On June 18, she announced that she had removed herself from consideration and urged for Biden to select a woman of color.[34][35]

Declined to be considered

The following individuals publicly confirmed that they had declined to be vetted by the Biden campaign.[21]

Opinion polling

Vice presidential polling
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Stacey Abrams
Tammy Baldwin
Karen Bass
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Catherine Cortez Masto
Val Demings
Tammy Duckworth
Kamala Harris
Amy Klobuchar
Michelle Lujan Grisham
Gina Raimondo
Susan Rice
Elizabeth Warren
Gretchen Whitmer
Others
Undecided
The Economist/YouGov August 2–4, 2020 600 (RV) 6% 1% 1% 3% 3% 8% 22% 0% 11% 21% 3% 3%[b] 19%
Yahoo News/YouGov July 28–30, 2020 1088 (RV) 8% 3% 3% 5% 4% 6% 25% 2% 2% 14% 22% 5%
Hill-HarrisX July 20–21, 2020 947 (RV) 6% 3% 3% 3% 4% 15% 4% 12% 16% 4% 30%[c]
Data for Progress July 20, 2020 538 (RV)[d] 8% 3% 1% 10% 3% 6% 21% 2% 6% 23% 4% 13%
Yahoo! News/YouGov Jun 9–10, 2020 1288 (RV) 14% 6% 8% 24% 14% 30% 5%
Monmouth Jun 1–9, 2020 2240 (LV) 10% 2% 7% 28% 12% 2% 13% 2% 8%[e]
Yahoo! News/YouGov May 4–5, 2020 1224 (RV) 11% 5% 6% 17% 18% 34% 8%
Vox May 1, 2020 605 (V) 7% 3% 15% 9% 42% 4% 20%
CBS/YouGov Apr 28–May 1, 2020 1671 (LV) 14% 1% 2% 3% 3% 19% 13% 1% 4% 36% 3% 1%[f]
Economist/YouGov Apr 26–28, 2020 1222 (RV) 8% 2% 9% 7% 15% 2% 13%[g] 44%
Harvard/Harris Apr 14–16, 2020 2394 (RV) 10% 10% 1% 13% 3% 63%[h]

2020 Democratic Party Vice Presidential Candidate Selection Media

Notes

  1. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. "Someone else" with 3%
  3. Nadja West with 5%; "None of the above / Someone else" with 25%
  4. Poll included only voters not affiliated with a political party.
  5. including Michelle Obama with 3% and Tulsi Gabbard with 1%
  6. Sally Yates with 1%
  7. "Someone else" with 13%
  8. Bernie Sanders with 20%; Andrew Cuomo with 11%; Michael Bloomberg with 8%; Pete Buttigieg with 7%; Tom Steyer with 3%; "Other" with 14%

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Biden's running mate announcement pushed back, likely will not come next week". USA Today. July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Glueck, Katie (March 16, 2020). "Joe Biden Says He Would Choose a Woman as His Running Mate. But Who?". The New York Times.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Kearns, Madeleine (May 6, 2020). "Joe Biden's 'Woman'". National Review.
  4. "Biden picks Kamala Harris as running mate, adding former 2020 rival to ticket". CBS News. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Merica, Dan; Saenz, Arlette; Mucha, Sarah (March 16, 2020). "Joe Biden Said He Would Pick a Woman as His Running Mate. Here's Who Could Be on His List". CNN.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Scher, Bill (March 17, 2020). "Biden's Top 12 Running Mates, Ranked". Politico.
  7. "Biden says four Black women are on his VP list but won't commit to choosing one". Yahoo. July 21, 2020.
  8. Watson, Kathryn (July 28, 2020). "Biden says he'll have a vice presidential pick next week". CBS News.
  9. "Biden's V.P. Pick Is Said to Be Imminent". The New York Times. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  10. "'Blatant disrespect of Black women': Women leaders criticize treatment of Black women being considered as Biden VP pick". USA Today. August 5, 2020.
  11. "Smile more? Some critics see sexism in debate over Biden VP". Yahoo. August 5, 2020.
  12. "A stench of sexism in the VP search". The Washington Post. August 3, 2020.
  13. Zeleny, Jeff; Merica, Dan (June 26, 2020). "Nation's reckoning on race looms large over final month of Biden's running mate search". CNN.
  14. Parnes, Amie (July 29, 2020). "VP hopefuls jockey for position as Biden's final decision nears". The Hill.
  15. Reston, Maeve (August 2, 2020). "Top Biden VP contenders face sexist tropes, intense scrutiny in final stretch". CNN.
  16. Nichols, John (July 21, 2020). "Progressives Have a VP Short list: Barbara Lee, Nina Turner, Karen Bass". The Nation. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  17. Gray, Madison J. (March 13, 2020). "8 Black Women Who Make Awesome Vice Presidents for Biden/Sanders". BET. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  18. Smith, Chris. "Inside the Final Days of Joe Biden's VP Choice". Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  19. Korecki, Natasha; Caputo, Marc (March 17, 2020). "Biden Squeezed on His Most Critical Decision: His VP Pick". Politico.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Pindell, James (April 22, 2020). "Here Are 3 People Joe Biden Might Be Considering More for His VP as Coronavirus Disrupts American Life". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 Phillips, Amber (March 15, 2020). "Who Are the Women Probably on Joe Biden's Shortlist for Vice President?". The Washington Post.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.8 Blake, Aaron (April 8, 2020). "The 11 Most Logical Picks for Joe Biden's Vice President, Ranked". The Washington Post.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 23.7 Cillizza, Chris (April 9, 2020). "The Top 10 Women Joe Biden Might Choose as His VP". CNN.
  24. Stanage, Niall (May 21, 2020). "The Memo: Activists press Biden on VP choice". The Hill.
  25. Erickson, Bo (May 22, 2020). "Biden asks Amy Klobuchar to undergo vetting as possible running mate". CBS News.
  26. Edelman, Adam (May 22, 2020). "Biden's vice president shortlist emerges, as Demings says she's being vetted". NBC News.
  27. Caputo, Marc (May 17, 2020). "Val Demings' stock rises on VP shortlist". Politico.
  28. DiStaso, John (May 21, 2020). "Both NH senators invited to initial interviews for Biden VP slot; Hassan agrees, Shaheen declines". WMUR9.
  29. Gorecki, Natasha (Jun 8, 2020). "2 longshots rise in Biden VP search". POLITICO.
  30. Erickson, Bo (June 23, 2020). "Congressional Black Caucus chair Karen Bass being vetted to be Biden running mate". CBS News.
  31. "Amy Klobuchar didn't prosecute officer at center of George Floyd's death after previous conduct complaints". www.theweek.com. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  32. "Amy Klobuchar Criticized for Declining to Prosecute Police Shootings as Minnesota County Attorney". Complex. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  33. "Amy Klobuchar missed chance to prosecute Minneapolis cop now at center of George Floyd death". The Washington Times. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  34. Epstein, Reid J. (June 18, 2020). "Klobuchar Withdraws as Candidate to Be Biden's Running Mate". New York Times.
  35. LeBlanc, Paul (June 18, 2020). "Amy Klobuchar drops out of Biden VP contention and says he should choose a woman of color". CNN.
  36. "Cortez Masto bows out of consideration to be Biden's running mate citing Nevada's economic crisis". The Nevada Independent.
  37. "Sen. Shaheen tells Biden campaign she does not want to be vetted for VP". The Hill.