Kamala Harris reportedly mulling Biden endorsement amid vice president speculation
Kamala Harris is reportedly weighing a potential endorsement of Joe Biden, as rumours have swirled that she might be considered to become his running mate.
The reports that Ms Harris is considering such an endorsement comes just under two months after she ended her own 2020 presidential run, and a little over a week to the Iowa caucuses next month.
The endorsement would make the California senator the sixth US senator to endorse Mr Biden, who leads the current field of democratic hopefuls in the so-called “endorsement primary”. Endorsements are often seen as major victories for candidates, showing institutional support from fellow candidates with connection to various different voting blocks, though Mr Biden's middling lead in polls of early states shows endorsements are far cries from being silver bullets.
If Ms Harris hopes to become Mr Biden’s running mate, as some have suggested, an early endorsement could help her to mend bridges after she forcefully attacked him during early primary debates for his past positions on race relations.
Mr Biden would also need to win the nomination, which is far from a sure thing at this point in the race as strong challenges have emerged from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg.
In recent polls of Iowa, for instance, Mr Biden has seen dwindling support, even as his aggregated average keeps him in the lead.
A loss in Iowa, which holds its caucuses on 3 February, could prove very damaging for Mr Biden’s campaign, which has remained strong thus far in part based upon voter belief that he would be a strong candidate to take on Donald Trump in November.
It is unclear if Ms Harris endorsing Mr Biden would help his prospects much in Iowa or other early states, where she was unable to gain significant traction in her own 2020 bid.
In Iowa, according to Real Clear Politics, Ms Harris had just 3.3 per cent support when she dropped out.
Mr Biden, for his part, has said previously that he would consider her as a vice president, when she was still a presidential contender.
