Ms. Bass has also launched a previously undisclosed campaign to woo influential liberal leaders, calling union presidents to seek their advice and support.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is close with Ms. Bass, whom she appointed to oversee the recent police reform bill, and has made her admiration clear in private conversations, including with former President Barack. Obama. Ms. Pelosi’s aides said she has not supported any candidate, is fond of several, and, speaking to Mr. Biden’s research team last month, urged them to find someone who can ensure that the ticket is victorious.
Two prominent Democrats, Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California, along with a handful of other women, remain as possibilities; Both lawmakers have the statewide political experience and the large national following that Bass and Rice lack. Ms. Warren has become a kind of informal adviser to Mr. Biden in economic affairs and has earned the support of his party’s progressive wing, and Ms. Harris is considered a fundraiser backed by important people. from the Democratic Party donor class.
While Mr. Biden’s advisers are careful to emphasize that he has not ruled out any of the top candidates, some are clearly less likely than others to be elected. For some of the long-term candidates, the talks have already focused on other potential roles in a Biden administration: Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, for example, has expressed interest in the work of secretary of health and services. human, according to officials. familiar with her thinking.
Among the other candidates Mr. Biden has closely examined are Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Representative Val Demings of Florida, who has enlisted the sizeable Congressional delegation from her home state to file appeals on her behalf; and Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who is backed by veteran advocates.
Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois called Mr. Biden’s team to urge them to put Mrs. Duckworth, a military veteran, on the ticket, and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee of the Senate shared his High Opinion of combat-injured Ms Duckworth in the Biden camp, and also urged them to choose their home state governor, Gina Raimondo, people familiar with the talks said.
