More voters want Biden to pick person of color as VP, poll says. Here are some options
During nationwide protests following the deaths of three black people, more voters want Joe Biden to pick a person of color as his vice president, according to a new poll.
The poll conducted last week shows 46% of Democratic voters say it’s important for Biden to choose a person of color as his running mate. This is up from 36% in April, according to the poll from Morning Consult and Politico.
Around 2,000 registered voters were polled, and the margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The results come after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Since Floyd’s death in late May, there have been nationwide protests calling for justice for the deaths, police reform and equal treatment of black people.
“Joe Biden needs to inspire historic turnout among communities of color to win in November and needs a police accountability and racial justice champion on the ticket,” Aimee Allison, founder and president of advocacy group She the People told Morning Consult. “It is clear that a black woman on the ticket is not only strategic for the campaign, but is the missing link in guiding the country through this crisis.”
Several black women are among the betting favorites to be Biden’s running mate, according to US-Bookies.com, which provides a comprehensive list of betting odds. Biden has previously said he promised to choose a woman as his running mate.
Sen. Kamala Harris has long been the favorite to be Biden’s vice president and her odds have improved to 1/1, meaning it’s just as likely she will be chosen as it is unlikely. The California senator has “seized the moment” in her opportunity to be named Biden’s running mate, according to Politico.
“There is still no clear challenger to Harris, who has been leading the market for some time,” US-Bookies betting industry analyst Alex Donohue said. “However, the recent improvements for other notable candidates make things interesting, as these women continue to gain momentum while Joe Biden has yet to announce his running mate.”
Val Demings, a U.S. representative and former police chief for Orlando, Florida, has seen her odds improve in recent weeks as well. She is now at 5-to-1 odds and is the favorite behind Harris, according to US-Bookies.
She told Axios she will say yes if Biden asks her to be his running mate. The congresswoman said the country needs a vice president who understands “the inequities and injustices that occur at the hands of police, at the hands of our criminal justice system, but also in our education system, in housing, in health care.”
As the odds for Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar have fallen, others are seeing their name move up rankings. Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, now has 12-to-1 odds to be vice president amid reports she and Demings are being vetted by Biden’s team, according to Politico.
Bottoms told Vogue she is honored her name is being mentioned as a potential vice president.
“I can tell you, with COVID-19, I was giving it a lot less thought, and with what’s been happening over the past few days, I’ve given it absolutely no thought,” she told the magazine last week. “It’s going to be important for Joe Biden to have a strong V.P. who can help him heal our nation and lead our nation, and it’s going to be important to have a person beside him who can help him defeat Donald Trump.”
Other women of color Biden could choose include former Georgia House of Representatives member Stacey Abrams and Susan Rice, who served as President Barrack Obama’s National Security Advisor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Abrams has 12-to-1 odds while Rice’s chances have shot up to 16-to-1, according to US-Bookies. Lower in the betting site’s rankings are Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth (20-to-1) and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (25-to-1).
