I’ve long maintained that Joe Biden would be best served with a Black woman for vice president, and have done so for three reasons:
1) The vice president’s first and most important job is to help get the ticket elected. Only about 39% of white men are Democrats, so the VP should be reflective of the actual party base—female and brown. Furthermore, the biggest vote centers in the critical battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina are heavily Black, and heavily suppressed. New Democratic leadership in those states means (hopefully) less suppression, but we need a candidate that can swing through Milwaukee, Detroit, Philly, Research Triangle (NC), Miami, and back again, all to rally that critical, all-important vote.
2) The Black vote made Biden. I believe that, in politics, you reward those who brought you.
3) History. It’s time.
But, that doesn’t mean that a Black woman is Biden’s only smart play. In fact, picking Sen. Elizabeth Warren would be quite brilliant, as well.
The case for Warren tracks with the three factors I state above.
1) The vice president’s first and most important job is to help get the ticket elected. As one of two prominent Democrats in the party’s left “lane,” and with a party fractured along ideological lines, picking Warren would create a “unity” ticket that would bring both halves of the party back together. Yes, it wouldn’t bring dead-ender supporters of Bernie Sanders into the fold, but then again, nothing would. So the question Biden’s team has to ask themselves is: Do they further antagonize the left, or do they ally together for the common good?
But her benefits wouldn’t just be ideological. Democrats won in 2018 (and 2019 in Virginia, Kentucky, and Louisiana) because of white, suburban, educated women—otherwise known as Warren’s base.
Getting that female suburban vote out isn’t just critical in the presidential and Senate races, but also in holding and expanding our House majorities.
Again, to be clear, I’m not saying a Black woman can’t do this (I want a Black female VP nominee!). I’m just saying that Warren is well-placed to bolster Biden’s credentials with this critically important demographic. (In comparison, Biden won 58% of the Black vote.)
This one-two punch—ideological and demographic—would provide a tangible electoral boost, fulfilling the VP nominee’s first and most important job: helping the ticket win.
2) Rewarding supporters. So okay, the Warren vote didn’t make Biden the way that the Black vote did. Without the Black vote, there is no “nominee Biden.” But Warren never directly attacked Biden (in a sustained manner), and when she dropped out, she gifted him with neutrality. Not that Warren could’ve rescued Bernie Sanders (she couldn’t), but she denied him a shot in the arm at a time he desperately needed one. In fact, the “Warren won’t endorse Bernie” stories had the opposite effect—reinforcing that he was on a losing trajectory, and that the race was all but over.
More importantly, despite being ideologically better aligned with Sanders, Warren supporters flocked to Biden. You don’t even need to look at any polls. Look at results. Bernie was getting 30% before Warren dropped out. He got 30% after Warren dropped out. Warren supporters didn’t make Biden, but they sealed it. (And no, I’m not pretending this is the strongest argument. Just an argument.)
3) History. It’s time.
Biden is in a pretty good place, with a great many vice presidential options in our party. Warren doesn’t just bolster his standing with a key, brand-new base demographic (educated suburban white women), but helps unify a party fragmented by a bruising primary.
Throw in her competence, intelligence, and binder full of plans, ready to be implemented on Day One, and you have one hell of a choice.
I’m not saying she’s the best option. I don’t think such a thing exists. I’m not saying she’s my preferred option. I’ve made that clear.
But it would be a great option, with untold benefits, if Biden goes in that direction.