There has been much discussion and speculation over who the Democratic Presidential Nominee, Joe Biden, will pick as his running mate. And while the phrasing just employed in the previous sentence suggests that it is Biden will make the call, political scientists realize that this is not the case. Adler and Azari (2018) further explore the power of parties in the selection of candidates, and this time, with a concentration of vice president selections. With party elites in charge, what criteria do they use to filter out a good VP candidate? First, they can emphasize one or many specific characteristics about a candidate whether it be their gender, race, or geographical background. Second, they can focus on the ideology of the candidate to allow a wider net to be cast by a balanced ticket. And third, they can use veto power to give a hard no to a proposed candidate who is not up to snuff or not deemed as loyal to the party.
Joe Biden has vowed in the first Democratic Presidential Primary Debate that he would focus on the identity of his running mate. There he said, “If I’m elected President, my cabinet and my administration will look like the country, and I commit that I will in fact pick a woman to be Vice President.” His focus on the gender of his Vice President plays into another political strategy employed by parties in election cycles. Parties push for an increased number of female candidates when “political trust falls and perceptions of corruption rise” (Hinojosa et al. 2019). With nearly all of President Trump’s first term marred by investigations on corruption and even accusations aimed at Joe Biden on corruption, the public is growing increasingly polarized and equally distrusting of those in Washington. Thus, the Democratic employment of a female VP shields them from the levels of scrutiny that would otherwise be faced.
What will play an interesting counter to the positive bias of compassionate women is the fact that two of Biden’s potential running mates have deep ties and experience in law enforcement. All who are involved are currently under fierce scrutiny, especially from minority communities and the Democratic party, at large, due to the unfortunate and recent string of notable African-American deaths. Kamala Harris, who had previously been hit with criticism for her law enforcement policies during the presidential primaries, has been relatively unscathed by the ongoing national drama. Val Demings, on the other hand, has faced sharper criticisms due to her direct experience as a police chief in Orlando. Demings defended her story in a Washington Post op-ed titled “My fellow brothers and sisters in blue, what the hell are you doing?” where she uses her experience to decry the unjust policing that took place in Minneapolis and is taking place around the country.
Even bookies in Vegas have their eyes and money on the unfolding events. The death of George Floyd caused Kamala Harris’ odds of being the pick for VP rocket up while simultaneously causing Amy Klobuchar, the senator from the Minneapolis area, to see her stock to irrecoverably plummet. In fact, the national fallout over the Floyd tragedy has led many activists and party members to put increased pressure on Biden to pick a candidate of color, thus showing the party's desire to emphasize certain characteristics to produce a visually well-rounded ticket. This pressure led to the addition of new faces - Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) and Rep Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH) - and reignited the push for former Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacy Abrams to Biden's shortlist – all black women.
This appears to be the most notable VP selection of recent memory. While other nominees have used the process to bring about an ideologically balanced ticket - such as Donald Trump selecting the staunch evangelical Mike Pence or John McCain picking the socially conservative Sarah Palin over the pro-choice independent John Lieberman – none have focused so deeply on the identity of the candidate - especially in a time where identity seems to be so heavily weighted. The selection process, along with the speculation and vigorous vetting by the media, voters, and party officials, will continue for at least seventeen more days, as Biden plans to announce his decision by August 1st. At the very latest, the decision will be made by the Democratic National Convention on August 17th where the two will be presented and formally nominated to run against President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
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