Advertisement

Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren suggest Kamala Harris could be their pick for VP

Democratic presidential hopefuls (L-R) Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris: AFP via Getty Images
Democratic presidential hopefuls (L-R) Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris: AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren have suggested they could pick Kamala Harris as their candidate for vice-president after she dropped out of the Democratic primary race.

Mr Biden, a former vice-president, told reporters he spoke to Ms Harris on Tuesday and believes she is a strong potential running mate.

“Look, Senator Harris has the capacity to be anything she wants to be,” he said.

“She's solid, she can be president someday herself, she can be vice president, she could go on to be a Supreme Court justice, she could be attorney general. I mean she has enormous capability.”

Ms Warren told NBC she believes the California senator would be on “any Democrats shortlist” for vice-president.

Ms Harris, who was seen as a potential frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, said she was ending her campaign due to funding issues earlier this week.

“I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete,” she wrote in a statement.

The senator notably clashed with Mr Biden during the first Democratic debates and challenged him on his record on racial issues, specifically when he opposed federally-mandated busing to desegregated schools.

The confrontation was widely seen as the standout moment from the debate and led to a brief bump in her polling numbers.

At the start of the second debate, Mr Biden was caught on camera asking her to “go easy on me, kid” in an apparent reference to their earlier tense exchanges.

Bob Shrum, a former political consultant for Al Gore and John Kerry’s presidential campaigns, told USA Today that Ms Harris would make a strong pick for vice-president.

“She was down in the polls, her fundraising dried up and she didn’t want to be on the California ballot and come in fifth or sixth,” Mr Shrum said.

“All that said, she’ll be top-of-the-list for vice president if Biden, Buttigieg or even Sanders is the nominee.”

Mr Biden and Ms Warren are two of the leading figures in the race to become the Democratic nominee for the 2020 election, alongside Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg.

Voting for the nomination process will start with the Iowa caucus on 3 February, 2020.

Read more

Where did it all go wrong for Kamala Harris?