VP ticket to include a woman
When times are uncertain, leadership is paramount.
In a few months, Americans must decide who will best lead the nation through 2024: Mr. Trump or — minority party candidates notwithstanding — Mr. Biden?
That’s not the whole question. Vice presidents, so readily overlooked in campaigns, do sometimes step into presidencies, so who and how capable they are to lead does matter.
While the parties’ national conventions will officially determine presidential candidates, it is the candidates themselves who choose their vice presidential nominees. As reports that President Trump had reconsidered his running mate have not been confirmed by his campaign, the public familiarity with Mike Pence remains undisturbed.
But what about Biden’s choice? While a dozen names have been in the running — all women — seven are reported front-runners since Amy Klobuchar withdrew.
Here’s a glimpse:
Kamala Harris: U.S. Senator from California and former presidential candidate; former district attorney and state attorney general. Age 55. Known for proposing middle-class tax cuts and a bill to make lynching a federal crime. Said to appeal to both moderates and liberals.
Elizabeth Warren: U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, former presidential candidate and Harvard law professor. Age 70. Known for being critical of wealth concentration and corporate power. Not as popular with moderates.
Keisha Lance Bottoms: Mayor of Atlanta. Age 50. Known for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic and stance on police reform and racial justice. Some point to her inexperience with federal office as a minus.
Val Demings: U.S. Representative from Florida (an electoral swing state) and former Orlando police chief. Age 63. Known for stance on law enforcement and gun control; served as impeachment manager in the Senate trial of President Trump.
Susan Rice: Former national security adviser, ambassador to the United Nations, and assistant secretary of state. Age 55. Known for key foreign policy roles such as the Iran nuclear deal and Paris climate agreement. This would be her first candidacy.
Michelle Lujan Grisham: Governor of New Mexico; served three terms in Congress. Age 60. Known for clean-energy legislation and a minimum wage hike; advocates free public college. The only known Latina being considered.
Tammy Duckworth: U.S. Senator from Illinois; retired Army lieutenant colonel and helicopter pilot who lost both legs in combat while serving in Iraq. Age 52. Known for her advocacy for veteran and military families and those with disabilities. She’d be the first female veteran to run on a VP ticket.
Tammy Baldwin (the first openly gay person to win a U.S. Senate seat), Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Georgia Rep. Stacey Abrams, Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo, and U.S. Senator from New Hampshire Maggie Hassan are still in the running but considered less likely choices.
While we’re on topic, the line of succession doesn’t end there — as fans of “Designated Survivor” might surmise. The Constitution only names the Vice President, but we’re covered well past that by the Presidential Succession Act.
If we lose a sitting president and the VP can’t serve, next in the line of succession is the Speaker of the House, then the Senate’s president pro tempore, then it falls to Cabinet members in order: Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense; the U.S. Attorney General; then the Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and finally, Homeland Security.
To read about the election process, conventions and more see USA.gov/election.
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Sholeh Patrick, J.D. is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.