Tammy Duckworth, now in VP spotlight, won't say if Biden should select a Black running mate

Tammy Duckworth, now in VP spotlight, won't say if Biden should select a Black running mate

Tammy Duckworth, now in VP spotlight, won't say if Biden should select a Black running mate

When Joe Biden pledged at the final Democratic primary debate to select a woman as his running mate, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth was rarely mentioned as a contender.

But that is changing as Biden and his campaign move closer to a decision that is expected to come early next month.

Duckworth, 52, is among the broad tier of those being vetted by the Biden campaign. She would be the first woman of color nominated for that high office if chosen. She has served as the junior United States senator for Illinois since 2017. An Iraq war veteran, Duckworth was the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress, the first female double-amputee in the US Senate and the first senator to give birth while in office.

Biden's announcement that he would pick a woman in March was largely greeted with cheers, but the terms of an intra-party debate over representation at the top of the ticket have sharpened over the past few months. The question now -- one that has been amplified by more than a month of anti-racist protests around the country -- is whether Biden should narrow his slate to women of color -- and, more specifically, Black women. 

On Sunday, Duckworth, who is Thai-American, passed when asked by CNN's Dana Bash whether Biden should pick a Black woman for the position.

"The Biden campaign have their own process that they're going through. And I'm sure Vice President Biden will pick the right person to be next to him as he digs this country out of the mess that Donald Trump has put us in," Duckworth said.

Pressed for a more direct answer, Duckworth didn't budge, saying that Biden "knows best" what he needs from a running mate that it was not on "any of us to dictate to him."

The Biden campaign declined to comment.

Her potential candidacy comes as a number of prominent Black leaders have publicly suggested that he pick a Black running mate and Sen. Kamala Harris, former Obama White House national security adviser Susan Rice, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and 2018 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, have been among those reported to be in the running.

In late April, Harris, widely viewed as the frontrunner at this stage, said in an interview she believed it "is important to have a woman of color, or a woman," on the ticket -- but declined to go any further.

"I'm not gonna tell Joe Biden what to do," Harris said. "I want him to pick the running mate that that is best equipped to help him win because more than anything Joe Biden has got to win, we cannot suffer another four years of Donald Trump in the White House."

Jill Biden has appeared with at least four women currently thought to be in the running to join the former vice president on the Democratic ticket, including Duckworth, in virtual campaign events and fundraisers over the past few months. Last week at a virtual fundraiser, Jill Biden highlighted Duckworth's military service and said the senator inspires people across the nation.

"Tammy, it's been such a pleasure getting to know you over the years, especially in our work on Joining Forces," Jill Biden said.

"And you have served our nation in so many ways, in the Army, at Veterans Affairs and on Capitol Hill. And as a veteran, a disability advocate and a woman of color, and the first woman to have a child while serving in the Senate, you inspire so many people across this country, and we are honored to have your support."

Reported by Gregory krieg and Kate Sullivan

CNN: Tammy Duckworth, now in VP spotlight, won't say if Biden should select a Black running mate.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/politics/tammy-duckworth-biden-vice-president/index.html