He told Reid that he had gone through a “two-hour investigative report” on “about four candidates,” adding:
“Then when I’m done examining all the candidates, I’ll narrow the list down and then we’ll see. And then I’ll have personal discussions with each of the remaining candidates and make a decision.”
What, OK! What that suggests to me is that Biden will not be making any kind of decision, public or private, in the August 1 time frame that had floated earlier this spring. Since she hasn’t even gone through all the background check reports, it seems to me that the window for Biden to make a decision and then announce that she will be much closer to the start of the Democratic National Convention on August 17.
So, we are going to have to wait a little longer to find out who chooses Biden. Below is my last list of the most likely options! (Michelle Obama’s Necessary Warning: The former first lady is not on this list because she has never expressed an interest in being political. If it did, it would immediately jump to the top of these rankings. And here they are last week’s ratings For reference!)
10. Tammy Baldwin: A columnist for the Washington Post described the Wisconsin senator this week as “progressive but reasonable.” I guess this is how Biden sees himself. And Baldwin is also from a key swing state of the Midwest. I still very much doubt that Biden will choose a white woman as her vice president, more on that below, but if she does, Baldwin is very much in the mix. (Previous ranking: 10)
9. Gina Raimondo: The Governor of Rhode Island has become the type of anti-Trump when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus. While Trump has put scientists in favor of men and women “yes,” Raimondo put science and data at the center of the state’s much-praised response to the virus. She also seems like the most likely moderate choice for Biden. (Previous ranking: 7)
8. Karen Bass: In Biden’s MSNBC interview, he revealed that he is considering four black women for the position of vice president. The first three seem obvious, and hold down the top 3 spots in my ranking. (Scroll down for more!) But who’s the fourth? One potential is Bass, the California congresswoman and president of the Black Caucus of Congress. One thing to keep in mind in terms of Bass’s unique appeal: it would fulfill Biden’s interest in naming a woman of color while also making the liberals who love Bass happy. (Previous ranking: 9)
7. Val Demings: It has been a few weeks of media coverage for the Florida House member, with national publications investigating her time as chief of police in Orlando. And on Thursday, the Miami Herald ran an article arguing that choosing Demings as vice president would not guarantee Biden a victory in Florida. Still, we know that Biden is considering four black women as her vice president, and that the fourth spot is likely to be Demings or Bass. (Previous ranking: 6)
6. Michelle Lujan Grisham: The emergence of Arizona and Texas as decisive states in 2020 makes the Latino vote, which was already critical to Biden’s chances, much more essential. And Lujan Grisham, the governor of New Mexico, is one of the highest-ranking Latino officials in the country, and the only Latina really considered in consideration for the vice president position. (Previous ranking: 5)
5. Elizabeth Warren: The news that Biden and Warren speak frequently and that she has become a key voice in their political operation made me think twice before having Warren in the lowest position (No. 8) as I did the week pass. I’m still skeptical that Biden chooses a white woman as her running mate, but if she follows that route, the Massachusetts senator will likely be first in line. (Previous ranking: 8)
4. Tammy Duckworth: The Illinois senator continues to receive large amounts of national media attention following attacks on her by Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson. He appeared on a New York Times podcast last Thursday to talk about Carlson and his potential vice presidents and has jumped into the debate about Trump’s threats to send federal forces to Chicago. (“Don’t even think about it,” Duckworth warned Trump on CNN.) Everything is in the right direction for Duckworth at the right time. (Previous ranking: 4)
3. Susan Rice: Apart from Lujan Grisham, no one on this list has fanned the VP flames less than the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations. I tend to think it’s a very smart strategy to actually end up as the choice, since Biden is very old and not a fan of open campaigns for the job. However, rice is not completely silent; She published an opinion piece in The New York Times earlier in the week explaining how to make systemic changes to address the current problem of racial injustice. (Previous ranking: 3)
2. Keisha Lance Bottoms: With Georgia emerging as a state of oscillation this fall, not to mention one of the epicenters of the fights over whether the masks should be mandated to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, the Mayor of Atlanta makes a lot of sense as Biden’s election. She is now in a legal altercation with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who sued her and her administration for his mask mandate, a lawsuit that has garnered national attention that is nothing but good for his vice president prospects. (Previous ranking: 2)
1. Kamala Harris: The California senator has been playing it safe for the past few weeks, believing, I think rightly so, that she is in pole position to be chosen. An evolution worth noting: Harris has worked to soften her image, and record it, as California’s “best police” to adapt to the current moment, both domestically and within the Democratic Party. (Previous ranking: 1)
CNN’s Allison Gordon contributed to this report.
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