KAMALA HARRIS, 55. CALIFORNIA SENATOR
After widespread protests over racial injustice and police brutality, the pressure on Biden to choose a woman of color increased. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents, fits the bill.
Harris is widely regarded as a favorite to run alongside Biden. She is a battle-tested former presidential candidate and ex-prosecutor who has shown an ability to go on the attack – a valued asset to a running mate. A first-time senator from California, she has already been heavily crowned by the media and rival campaigns.
Harris signed Biden after he dropped out of the race. But her criticism of him during a Democratic primary debate over his opposition to school buses ranked some people close to Biden, raising concerns about their ambition and loyalty.
Family life: Married to Douglas Emhoff, with two adult stepchildren.
SUSAN RICE, 55. FREE NATIONAL SETTLEMENT OF SECURITY
Rice served as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser during his second term, where she worked hand in hand on foreign policy issues with Biden, who was Obama’s vice president.
Prior to that, Rice served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Obama and had advised several other Democratic presidential candidates on national security.
A black woman, Rice was able to help support the African-American vote, the Democratic Party’s loyal constituency. But she has never run for public office, which means she would be untested on the campaign track. Her involvement in the controversy over the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, could revive that incident as a campaign issue.
Family Life: Married to former ABC News executive Ian Cameron with son and a daughter; son John is a Trump supporter
VAL DEMINGS, 63. FLORIDA CONGRESSWOMAN
Biden has said that Demings, an African-American congresswoman from the election street state of Florida, is on the shortlist for running mate.
The former Orlando police officer served as one of the administrators of the Second Chamber’s enlightenment proceedings against Republican President Donald Trump, but has a lower profile among voters nationwide.
Demings’ background in law enforcement and her relatively unvetted past as a police officer could be seen as risk factors for a Biden campaign that seeks to appeal to progressive voters.
Family Life: Married to Jerry Demings, current mayor of Orange County, Florida, with three grown children
KAREN BASS, 66. CALIFORNIA CONGRESSWOMAN
A late addition to Biden’s shortlist, Bass, a congresswoman from Southern California and president of the Congressional Black Caucus, would add a progressive voice to the ticket.
Bass has an extensive background in police reform efforts and has spanned the legislative response in the House of Commons to the assassination of George Floyd by police in May. But at 66, she can not offer the perspective of generational transition that Biden wants to show.
Family life: Lost her daughter and son-in-law in car accident in 2006; has four adult stepchildren from her previous marriage
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, 52. ILLINOIS SENATOR
Duckworth has a compelling personal story and would help improve the campaign’s national security credentials.
The Illinois senator is a fighter who lost her legs when her helicopter was shot dead in 2004 in Iraq. She became the first woman with a disability and was the first Thai-American to be elected to Congress. However, Duckworth has not been at the forefront of issues with civil justice such as Harris, Bass and others on Biden’s list.
Family life: Married to Bryan Bowlsbey, also a veteran, with two daughters, Abigail, five and Maile, two, the first child born to a sitting female senator
KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, 50. ATLANTA MAYOR
Bottoms is the mayor of the first term of a city raised by protests over Floyd’s death and the shooting of another Black man, Rayshard Brooks, by Atlanta police in June. Atlanta has also been a hot spot in the coronavirus pandemic, putting Bottoms at the forefront of the country’s two biggest challenges of the moment.
While Bottoms was an early supporter of Biden, her lack of experience at the federal level may limit her chances. Biden, who would become the oldest American president, has insisted that his no. 2 is ready to take over the presidency at any time.
Married to Home Depot executor Derek Bottoms, with four adopted children
ELIZABETH WARREN, 71. MASSACHUSETTS SENATOR
Warren has spoken to Biden regularly since dropping out of the Democratic nominee race and supporting him. The Massachusetts senator is seen by Biden advisers as a bridge between the former vice president and people skeptical about his commitment to progressive policy priorities.
However, Warren’s selection could raise accusations by the Trump campaign that Biden favors an overly left-wing agenda, while potential moderate voters in the field alienate that Biden cultivates.
Family life: Married to Harvard professor Bruce Mann, with two grown children from their first marriage and three grandchildren
MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM, 60. NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR
Lujan Grisham became Latina’s first Democratic governor in 2018, after serving six years in Congress.
Biden’s campaign has been prompted by allies to consider a running mate that could boost his support among Latino voters, potentially the largest minority polling station in the November election.
Family life: Husband Gregory Girsham died of a brain aneurysm in 2004. She has two daughters
GRETCHEN WHITMER, 48. MICHIGAN GOVERNOR
Whitmer raised her profile as the governor of a fighting state hard hit by the coronavirus.
But she came under fire from some Michigan residents earlier this year for a stay-at-home order they considered too annoying.
Family life: Has two children from her first marriage and three stepchildren from her second marriage to Marc Mallory, a dentist
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