Would Biden have still picked Harris for VP had the murder of George Floyd never happened?

[ShadowRocket]

I think its safe to say that Harris was always the clear frontrunner but it does seem like that whole incident forced Biden's hand to pick a woman of color.

Amy Klobuchar was widely speculated to be a major VP contender prior to removing herself from consideration.  I believe its been reported that Gretchen Whitmer was the runner up behind Harris when it became time to make a choice.

[Bootes Void]

Yes. I think he had already made up his mind back in April.

[LBJer]

Yes, it wouldn't have made a difference.  He and Harris made for a very balanced ticket.

[Independents for George Santos]

I always figured it would have been Klobuchar had she not been somewhat responsible for not prosecuting Chauvin as DA.

[brucejoel99]

Yes. There's a reason that they were clearly the most predictable Democratic ticket as early as mid-2017.

[South Dakota Democrat]

I always figured it would have been Klobuchar had she not been somewhat responsible for not prosecuting Chauvin as DA.

The bolded part really isn't true.

[Make America Grumpy Again]

I think Whitmer would've been his first choice with Klobochar as a possibility as well, but it wouldn't of surprised me if Harris was always near the top of his list.

[Agonized-Statism]

Yes. Firstly, we were already headed into a more racially-conscious time- there was Breonna Taylor before Floyd and the Central Park birdwatching incident concurrently. Election season was coming around, so people were focusing more on politics, and you obviously had a lot of frustrated people paying more attention with the lockdown having just started. The killing of George Floyd only became the raison d'être for being an unusually cruel and horrific spectacle. Police brutality is fairly common in this country, but not kneeling on a man for nine minutes on camera on the suspicion of using a counterfeit bill. So I think BLM was going to get media attention last summer even in some alternate history where the killing of George Floyd never happened, even if it wasn't as much.

All that said, I think Biden would have been motivated to balance the ticket with a younger woman of color from the west anyway, and she was a "safe" neoliberal. The kind of person voters could see as president, even if it's begrudgingly. She was such an obvious choice that the only circumstance where he might feel motivated to choose differently would be an Iran War scenario, where he might have picked Susan Rice for even more foreign policy credibility.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

Yes. Biden agreed to have Harris well before Floyd died. She dropped out early, because otherwise she would have split the CA primary vote, and Sanders would've swept its delegates. That pretty much ensures a prolonged primary.

Harris dropped out when it was clear that her campaign was getting nowhere because nobody wanted her, not because of some sort of deal.

[Pres Mike]

I think Whitmer would've been his first choice with Klobochar as a possibility as well, but it wouldn't of surprised me if Harris was always near the top of his list.

Well according to a lot of insiders Harris was always the top pick and most likely to be chosen, but Biden personally wanted Whitmer. It was a battle of heart vs brain

Even without George Floyd being killed Harris probably gets picked but Biden probably spends even more time thinking it out

[Pres Mike]

Yes. Biden agreed to have Harris well before Floyd died. She dropped out early, because otherwise she would have split the CA primary vote, and Sanders would've swept its delegates. That pretty much ensures a prolonged primary.

Yes. Biden agreed to have Harris well before Floyd died. She dropped out early, because otherwise she would have split the CA primary vote, and Sanders would've swept its delegates. That pretty much ensures a prolonged primary.

Harris dropped out when it was clear that her campaign was getting nowhere because nobody wanted her, not because of some sort of deal.

Yeah, Harris dropped out before she had lost all her support in the primaries. Getting 7th place in Iowa would just make her look worst and ruin her chances of being VP

[Sir Mohamed]

Yup, I think it was always clear she'd be the choice. Btw, I think Sanders would have picked her, too.

[SInNYC]

The party had already decided that Harris would be on the ticket by 2018. If she won the nomination good, if not there would have been heavy pressure on whoever the nominee was to pick her (with possible exceptions if a female like Kobluchar had won).

And dont discount party pressure - Edwards was most likely forced on Kerry.

[Del Tachi]

Yes. I think he had already made up his mind back in April.

of 2017, perhaps.

[brucejoel99]

Yup, I think it was always clear she'd be the choice. Btw, I think Sanders would have picked her, too.

Yeah, I think he made that pretty clear with his recommendation to Biden that he make her his running-mate.

[Pericles]

Harris only endorsed Biden once she knew he'd won after Super Tuesday, unlike even Beto but especially Buttigieg and Klobuchar she didn't put herself in any risk for the sake of the party.

[Pres Mike]

The party had already decided that Harris would be on the ticket by 2018. If she won the nomination good, if not there would have been heavy pressure on whoever the nominee was to pick her (with possible exceptions if a female like Kobluchar had won).

And dont discount party pressure - Edwards was most likely forced on Kerry.

Why was Edwards forced on Kerry

[SInNYC]

The party had already decided that Harris would be on the ticket by 2018. If she won the nomination good, if not there would have been heavy pressure on whoever the nominee was to pick her (with possible exceptions if a female like Kobluchar had won).

And dont discount party pressure - Edwards was most likely forced on Kerry.

Why was Edwards forced on Kerry

Well, maybe forced is a bit strong, but the party leaders considered him the next Clinton (no, not in that way) and the future of the party. There was also a contingent of the party that still felt that Ds needed to nominate a southerner to win, and his looks didnt hurt either.  Although Kerry hasnt leaked much post-election, others have hinted that Kerry preferred Gephardt but party leaders pushed him to Edwards (though there were some senators who warned him that Edwards was an empty suit).

[Pres Mike]

The party had already decided that Harris would be on the ticket by 2018. If she won the nomination good, if not there would have been heavy pressure on whoever the nominee was to pick her (with possible exceptions if a female like Kobluchar had won).

And dont discount party pressure - Edwards was most likely forced on Kerry.

Why was Edwards forced on Kerry

Well, maybe forced is a bit strong, but the party leaders considered him the next Clinton (no, not in that way) and the future of the party. There was also a contingent of the party that still felt that Ds needed to nominate a southerner to win, and his looks didnt hurt either.  Although Kerry hasnt leaked much post-election, others have hinted that Kerry preferred Gephardt but party leaders pushed him to Edwards (though there were some senators who warned him that Edwards was an empty suit).

I just rented Kerry autobiography

He explains that Edwards refused to listen to HQ and said whatever he wanted at campaign events. He hardly ever defended Kerry nor attacked Bush, it seemed that he was just preparing for a future presidential run. Kerry and Edwards have not spoken since 2004 and Kerry was disgusted with Edwards cheating on his dying wife. Kerry endorsed Obama over Edwards in 2008