Biden VP news megathread (pg 286 - been selected, announcement could be today)

[American2020]

Why Klobuchar should be Biden's vice presidential pick

But given the key roles that Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin played in electing Trump in the first place, the single most compelling rationale for a VP choice will be regional — that is, finding a candidate who will help Biden in specific Midwestern and Great Lakes states where the 2020 election will be won or lost.

Of these, Pennsylvania and Michigan already show strong signs of trending Democratic. Michigan Democrats netted two additional U.S. House seats in the 2018 mid-terms, as well as electing Gov. Gretchen Whitmire, who remains a strong VP option after being named co-chair of Biden’s campaign. Yet just last week Michigan voters gave Biden a resounding primary victory by more than 16 percent, and polls show Biden with a solid lead over Trump there.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats also netted three House seats in 2018, and made huge gains among suburban women. Polls give Biden a steady lead in the Keystone state as well, which of course includes Biden’s boyhood home of Scranton. Among other traditional Midwestern swing states, Trump won Ohio by a whopping 8 points in 2016, so the Buckeye state will probably stay out of reach for Democrats, unless Biden presides over a wave election.

Not only that, but Klobuchar is among the few Democrats who would be most helpful in bordering Wisconsin, the single state most likely to decide a close election, and one with which Minnesota has a unique cultural affinity. While polls show a very narrow Biden lead over Trump in Wisconsin (and Democrats did defeat Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2018), analysts from both parties say Wisconsin will probably be the single closest state in country come November, which is precisely why Democrats will be holding their convention in Milwaukee.

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/488850-why-klobuchar-should-be-bidens-vp-pick

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/LarrySabato/status/1244300040530780168

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1244371267307872256

[American2020]

How Will Biden Choose His Running Mate?

Goal 1: Help with electability, real or imagined
Helps: Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Hurts: Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

Goal 2: Balance the ticket demographically — particularly on race and ethnicity
Helps: Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Abrams, Cortez Masto

Hurts: Baldwin, Klobuchar, Warren, Whitmer … basically anyone who is white

Goal 3: Balance the ticket ideologically
Helps: Abrams, Harris, Warren

Hurts: Klobuchar

Goal 4: Help Democrats gain a Senate majority
Helps: Duckworth, Harris

Hurts: Baldwin, Warren

In any case, looking at the party-based criteria, here’s how things shake out for Abrams, Harris, Klobuchar and Warren, who The New York Times recently reported are senior Democratic Party officials’ leading choices for Biden’s running mate. (We’ve also included Duckworth, who’s a more obscure senator than Warren, but we wanted to note how favorably she looks compared with her in terms of these party-based metrics):

Harris: three positives, no negatives.
Abrams: two positives, no negatives.
Duckworth: two positives, no negatives.
Klobuchar: one positive, two negatives.
Warren: one positive, three negatives.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/will-biden-choose-a-running-mate-based-on-electability-ideology-or-identity

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1245836099945205762

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1247976671136960521

[American2020]

‘The Woman in Michigan’ Goes National

It’s a loaded question. This particular call, one of dozens Whitmer will make on Monday, April 6, comes at a moment of relative calm for the governor who has become one of America’s most visible political leaders amid the Covid-19 pandemic. But the last few weeks have been madness. Since Michigan’s first cases were identified on March 11, Whitmer, having already declared a state of emergency, shut down schools and businesses, banned large gatherings, broadened unemployment benefits and ordered citizens to shelter-in-place.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/04/09/gretchen-whitmer-governor-michigan-profile-2020-coronavirus-biden-vp-177791

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/TMZ/status/1248873439278047232

[American2020]

Choosing black woman as running mate could boost Biden popularity in battleground states, poll finds

More than half of black voters in eight states have said they would be more enthusiastic or more likely to vote for Joe Biden if he picked a black woman as his running mate.

The information comes from a new poll conducted for the advocacy group BlackPAC by Politico.

The poll concerns the key battleground states of Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

https://us.yahoo.com/news/2020-election-choosing-black-woman-160927427.html

[American2020]

Poll: Warren tops VP appeal for Dem voters in Michigan and Wisconsin



https://www.axios.com/vice-president-women-color-warren-poll-biden-c75d2901-aead-424c-a5b1-a987ab312c6c.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top&fbclid=IwAR2S_GSpHN4J365uxlTVg_S-hDgEwMpnix1i7SI8eBsSludf8OolDM1tZU8

[American2020]

Biden told to think economy with VP pick

Joe Biden

JOE BIDEN
Biden assembling White House transition team
Manchin to back Biden for president
Joe Biden must pick a progressive black woman as VP if he wants to win
MORE
 is being advised by some Democrats to select a running mate with strong economic credentials as the country faces a steep climb out of a coronavirus-fueled recession, according to sources close to the campaign.

The crisis has raised the stock of politicians who were already seen as potential veeps to Biden, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).

thehill.com/homenews/campaign/493258-biden-told-to-think-economy-with-vp-pick

[American2020]

Biden has one VP pick that stands above the rest

Besides the concerns some have raised about Biden's age and stamina, the fact that this campaign will take place in the middle of a full-scale pandemic means Democrats will need all hands on deck to pull out a victory in November.
While there are many good possibilities from which Biden can choose, one stands out more than any other: Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/18/opinions/biden-vp-pick-stands-above-the-rest-zelizer/index.html

[American2020]

Biden’s VP prospects break along Dem fault lines

Joe Biden’s campaign hasn’t yet started the process of formally vetting or interviewing potential running mates. There’s been no private polling yet, and no focus-grouping of potential candidates.

But the hunt for a vice presidential pick is already taking shape along familiar fault lines, mirroring the ongoing debate over whether the Democratic Party should focus more on winning back the white working class Rust Belt voters it lost to Donald Trump in 2016 or re-energizing the minority-powered coalition that elected Barack Obama to two terms.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/20/biden-veep-race-geography-195772

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1252860962899554305

[American2020]

Who should be Biden's running mate?

Perspectives
Abrams would bring a boost in black voter turnout that Biden needs to win

“It is in the realm of African-American voter enthusiasm that Ms. Abrams is without peer. Not only did she win 93 percent of the black vote in her race for governor … but few candidates (if any) in the history of this country have increased black turnout in a statewide election to the extent that Ms. Abrams did in 2018.” — Steve Phillips, New York Times

Whitmer is a proven leader who could seamlessly step into the presidency if needed

“Whitmer brings her skills as a governor and public official who has unfailingly seen from the get-go what her state needs in this, its most critical hour, and with laser-like precision has gone after it. With her leadership skills, she has also shown herself prepared to do so for the nation as well.” — David A. Andelman, CNN

Klobuchar is the best choice to bring swing voters back to Democrats

“The Democratic strategy for beating Trump is simple: unite the majority of Americans who have disapproved of his presidency for its entire term. That means running competent, decent people who won’t frighten voters away. Biden-Klobuchar is a perfect ticket for that task.” — Henry Olsen, Washington Post

Warren’s coronavirus response shows the importance of her policy acumen

“Despite ending her candidacy, Warren has offered the most prominent, thoughtful and urgent response to the coronavirus crisis of any politician in America. … Throw all other political considerations into the garbage: The world needs Warren in the executive branch, a heartbeat away from the presidency.” — Matthew Fleischer, Los Angeles Times

Harris ticks all the boxes of what Biden needs in a running mate

“Harris brings an energy that Biden doesn't have, and she is respected on all fronts. During her presidential run, she pitched a platform that threaded the needle between left and center and has credibility across the board. She can help to unite a party that needs so critically to be at full strength heading into the general.” — Michael Gordon, Business Insider

Biden should choose a black woman

“Biden, who has pledged to nominate a woman as his running mate and a black woman as a justice, knows there is no path to the White House for a Democrat without strong black turnout. He needs a black woman as his running mate. Why? Because black women are the core of the Democratic base, the party’s most loyal voters.” — Sophia A. Nelson, Daily Beast

Emphasis should be put on a candidate who helps win a swing state

“The most important thing a running mate can do is deliver a state to the ticket that may be out of reach. Providing an ideological balance is nice but not usually helpful. Winning in a state you're not expected to, as both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton found out in 2016, can be everything.” — Peter Roff, Newsweek

The choice should represent the future of the Democratic Party

“Because of his age, many believe Biden, if elected, would only serve one presidential term. That puts an even greater burden on his choice, since he’ll be picking someone who would not only be next in line to his presidency but a potential heir apparent to lead the Democratic party in 2024.” — Carl P. Leubsdorf, Dallas Morning News

Don’t put the Senate majority at risk

“In its quest to secure a Senate majority in 2021 and beyond, Democrats have zero margin for error. And without a Senate majority, the next Democratic president will struggle to appoint his own Cabinet, let alone pass major legislation. Biden should not pluck anyone out of the Senate unless he’s 100 percent sure that lawmaker will be replaced with another Democrat.” — Eric Levitz, New York

Running mates don’t matter nearly as much as people think

“The reality is, the choice of a vice president really does not sway elections.” — David Schultz, The Hill

https://us.yahoo.com/news/who-should-be-bidens-running-mate-190329374.html

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/1255532322440577037

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1256934803842220032

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/BoKnowsNews/status/1256954404906942467

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/CapehartJ/status/1257996552842469376

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1260786609492017153

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1261199909774032897

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1262490603801260032

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1263562668838879232

[American2020]

https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1263558716982464515

[American2020]

How Biden's veep pick will reshape his image

For Biden, the questions are: what story does he want to tell about himself and his candidacy through his selection of a running mate, and where does he think he is strong (or weak) already. Biden's success so far has been based on his unusual ability to appeal to working-class white voters as well as African Americans. However, with seemingly no potential running mate who also appeals to both constituencies, Biden will have to make a choice and decide where he is strong enough on his own that he does not need additional help.
It remains true that for the huge majority of Americans, Biden's choice will have little impact on their vote. Most decided long ago whether or not they want to give Trump another term. However, close presidential elections are won on the margins as undecided voters in a handful of states make up their minds. For those voters, the image and story that the candidates craft are very important -- and for Biden part of that story will be told through his choice of running mate.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/23/opinions/joe-biden-veep-stakes-shape-image-mitchell/index.html