Before facing President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in November, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has another challenge: picking a running mate.
This week during a fundraiser, Biden said he would name his vice presidential nominee around Aug. 1. Back in March, Biden committed to choosing a woman during a CNN debate with then presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
“I commit that I will, in fact, appoint a woman to be vice president,” Mr. Biden said on March 15. “There are a number of women qualified to be president tomorrow.”
Biden has been pressured to pick a woman of color to help attract voters from minority groups. However, Biden isn't ready to make that commitment.
"There are women of color under consideration, and they're women from every part of the country -- so a lot of really qualified women that are ready to be president," he said in an interview with CNN Tuesday.
Beyond picking a woman, Biden may be picking the Democratic nominee for 2024. There were reports are recently as December that Biden, who will be 78 on inauguration day, told aides he would only serve one term.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
The 70-year-old former presidential candidate, known for a progressive resume, may help attract voters from the left.
During the primary, Biden and Warren publicly disagreed on the topic of healthcare, with Warren committing to a Medicare for All-type plan and Biden supporting an expanded Obamacare.
While Biden and Warren fall on different ideological sides of the Democratic party, a combined ticket could lead to a marriage of moderate and progressive ideals.
The U.S. senator from Massachusetts also provides the greatest boost to Biden, according to two recent polls from Morning Consult and CBS News. In the Morning Consult poll, Black and Hispanic voters said Warren, more than any other potential running mate, would increase the chance they would vote for Biden.
Sen. Kamala Harris
The former presidential candidate checks a lot of boxes for as a potential running mate.
Before serving as U.S. senator, Harris served as Attorney General of California.
Harris, the first black senator from California, notably clashed with Biden on the debate stage for the Democratic presidential nomination on the issue of busing, a controversial topic involving busing minority students to majority-white schools to encourage desegregation in the 1970s.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, an ally of President Trump, said this week Harris is "hard-nosed. She's smart. She's tough" and he sees her as an asset to Biden's campaign.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar
The former 2020 presidential candidate and U.S. senator from Minnesota has already been asked Biden to undergo formal vetting to be considered the vice presidential nominee.
While Klobuchar has been cited as one of the most effective senators, the 60-year-old would bring baggage related to her time as a county attorney. Progressives worry that Klobuchar would be unable to capture the left-leaning side of the party and worry that some of her decisions as a prosecutor will alienate her from the African-American community.
Supporters of Klobuchar argue that she works across the aisle and has dedicated herself to supporting Biden's campaign after dropping her own presidential bid.
Rep. Val Demings
The Florida congresswoman has also said she is on the shortlist as a potential running mate. Demings, the former chief of the Orlando Police Department, would bring a law enforcement background to the ticket.
Demings was selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve as one of seven impeachment managers who presented the case against Trump to the U.S. Senate.
While she may not have the name recognition as some of the other candidates, Demings home state of Florida will be a battleground in the general election.
Stacey Abrams
Stacey Abrams is the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. The 46-year-old is one of the youngest women Biden is potentially considering as vice president.
Abrams gained national attention in 2018 for her closely watched race for governor of Georgia. She became the first black woman in the U.S. to be a major-party gubernatorial candidate. Abrams ultimately lost to current Gov. Brian Kemp but she has refused to concede, claiming voter suppression.
Outside of politics, Abrams is an award-winning author of several romantic suspense novels she wrote under the pen name Selena Montgomery.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
The first-term governor of Michigan has been pushed into the political spotlight as she continues to lead her state through the coronavirus pandemic. Whitmer has recently faced backlash for her stay-at-home order and has been the subject of criticism by Trump, protesters and a lawsuit from GOP lawmakers.
The governor also faces a recognition problem as 63% of Democratic voters say they haven't heard or don't know of her, according to a recent CNN poll.
Voters see benefits to a potential Biden-Whitmer ticket including the fact that she represents one of three states narrowly won by Trump on the way to his electoral college victory in the 2016 presidential election. Prior to 2016, Republicans had not won Michigan or Pennsylvania since 1988, and had not won Wisconsin since 1984.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham
Lujan Grisham serves as the first Democratic female Hispanic governor in the country, meaning the New Mexico native would bring diversity to the ticket.
Before serving as governor of New Mexico, Lujan Grisham served in the U.S. House and was formerly New Mexico's Secretary of Health.
Many Latinx activist groups have called on Biden to choose a Hispanic running mate. With Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto removing her name from consideration this week, Lujan Grisham becomes the leading Latina contender.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
Like Abrams, Bottoms comes from Georgia where she currently serves as mayor of Atlanta.
The former judge and city councilor was one of Biden's earliest supporters, endorsing the former vice president in June 2019. Bottoms even served as a precinct captain for Biden in Iowa, where he finished fourth in the primary.
Bottoms has publicly and frequently spoken out against President Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
TEGNA's Travis Pittman contributed to this report.
