Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE and his team are extensively vetting candidates to be his running mate, but a number of Democrats already think they know who he’ll end up picking: Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook McEnany says Juneteenth is a very ‘meaningful’ day to Trump MORE.
The California senator is increasingly seen as the most like choice for Biden, according to nearly two dozen Democratic operatives interviewed by The Hill.
“It just makes the most sense,” said one longtime ally to Biden who is frequently in touch with the campaign. “When you really give it some thought, and you hear him talk about what he’s looking for in a running mate, she’s the one that checks all the boxes.”
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Harris is seen as someone ready to be president, which is always important but especially so with a presumptive presidential candidate who would turn 80 while in office. She’s from a key Democratic state, would be the first Indian-American and African American woman to be a vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket, and may not be either too liberal or too centrist to engender anger with either side of the Democratic Party.
Democratic strategist Joel Payne calls her a natural choice who would also represent generational change.
“She is also the type of top tier surrogate who could boost the Biden ticket from day one and deliver a powerful case against Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE,” he said.
If there is a main rival to Harris, it may be Sen, Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenWarren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Joint Chiefs chairman says he regrets participating in Trump photo-op | GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op | Senate panel approves 0B defense policy bill Trump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names MORE (D-Mass.), another former presidential candidate.
A CBS News poll last week showed that 36 percent of respondents want Warren to be Biden’s pick, followed by Harris with 19 percent.
Biden has been looking for ways to excite progressives about his candidacy, and Warren could help him on the left.
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One Warren surrogate said there has been constant communication between the Biden and Warren teams, especially between the time she dropped out of the race on March 5 and endorsed Biden on April 15.
“I think it’s gonna come down to Kamala and Warren,” said the Warren surrogate.
Other names being floated by the Biden team include Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy KlobucharHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Democrats demand Republican leaders examine election challenges after Georgia voting chaos Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-Minn.), Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Val DemingsValdez (Val) Venita DemingsHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says country needs to rethink what ‘policing’ means; US cases surpass 2 million with no end to pandemic in sight Democrats press Intel chief for answers on foreign efforts to exploit US racial tensions MORE (D-Fla.) and Sen. Catherine Cortez MastoCatherine Marie Cortez MastoOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Interior faces legal scrutiny for keeping controversial acting leaders in office | White House faces suit on order lifting endangered species protections | Lawmakers seek investigation of Park Police after clearing of protesters Senate advances deputy energy secretary nominee Senate Democratic campaign arm launches online hub ahead of November MORE (D-Nev.).
While Harris appears to be the favorite, there is still some lingering bitterness from her attack on Biden in a debate last June. During the debate, Harris hammered Biden on his position on school busing. Aides to both maintain their relationship is still on solid ground.
“It definitely stung,” said one longtime Biden aide. “But they were two politicians in a primary debate.”
The California senator also has some political baggage with which the Biden team and Democrats will have to wrestle.
During her presidential run, Harris came under fire from progressives and even some black activists for her work as a prosecutor.
Before her election to the Senate in 2016, Harris served as the district attorney of San Francisco and later attorney general of California, a state where African Americans have been incarcerated at much higher rates than other groups.
Her ex-prosecutor background is seen as a reason Harris’s campaign never caught fire with black voters, despite early comparisons to Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaHarris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk Five ways America would take a hard left under Joe Biden Valerie Jarrett: ‘Democracy depends upon having law enforcement’ MORE.
Perhaps surprisingly, some senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus, of which Harris is a member, have not insisted that Biden select Harris or another African American woman. Instead, they are giving the former vice president some space as he navigates his first big decision as the party’s presumptive nominee.
House Majority Whip Jim ClyburnJames (Jim) Enos ClyburnHoyer: Infrastructure package to hit floor this month Lobbying world House Democratic whip pushes back on calls to defund police: We need to focus on reform MORE (D-S.C.), whose endorsement before the South Carolina primary helped catapult Biden to the nomination, has said he prefers that Biden choose an African American running mate but has made clear on multiple occasions it is “not a must.”
Another senior Black Caucus member agreed, saying it was more important that African Americans fill out top slots in a Biden Cabinet.
“Joe Biden needs to have a diverse Cabinet that reflects the strong support he received from the African American community,” the lawmaker told The Hill. “Whether he should choose an African American woman as his vice president — and there are incredible women on his shortlist — what is most important is that the Cabinet reflect the diversity of the country.”
Biden has said his VP selection committee — which includes a black lawmaker from his home state, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) — is likely to take until July to reach a decision on his running mate. Until then, the speculation among Democrats will continue.
“Sen. Harris is an exceptionally qualified individual who checks three important boxes: She’s black, she’s a woman and she can be president on Day 2 if needed,” said one veteran of the Obama/Biden campaign.
Democratic strategist Eddie Vale said he has also heard the non-stop talk of Harris being the pick, but that this didn’t mean it would happen.
“I feel like it’s one of these instances where the common wisdom has solidified just because it has, rather than for any actual or discernible reason,” he said.
Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University echoed that “guesstimates are often wrong.”
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“The VP pick is always a huge guessing game and rarely do the predictions line up with who wins the pick,” he said. “There are surges of interest in certain candidates, either because they fill the weaknesses of the nominee, at least on paper, and they are exciting figures in the world of politics, or just have the media buzz.
But Zelizer added, “in any campaign let alone one this unstable, these picks are flimsy and can be changed at the last moment.”
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