New name added to Biden's VP short list

Last week, Joe Biden's presidential campaign announced its formal vetting operation for selecting a candidate to join the ticket as vice president. 

The former vice president has said he will choose a woman as his running mate, and there is no shortage of speculation and no lack of talented female Democratic candidates. But an ongoing pandemic would likely impact political calculations at a time when the nation is reeling from a public health crisis.

Just a few months ago, the women at the top of the list included Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacie Abrams and possibly Sally Yates, a former U.S. deputy attorney general. 

But a new name has emerged: Gretchen Whitmer, the sitting governor of Michigan. There are three reasons for the sitting governor of Michigan to join the short list.

First is experience, experience, experience. At a time when governors are in charge of American’s health, Whitmer has the big job in a major swing midwestern state. She served in the Michigan House of Representatives for five years and then in the Michigan Senate for nine. She would be prepared to govern on Day 1. (The star of former Arizona Sen. Janet Napolitano, a former Arizona governor who served as secretary of Homeland Security, has fallen given some controversy during her stewardship of the large University of California system.)

Second is judgment. A point in Whitmer’s favor is that she is becoming battle hardened in Michigan, where 2,700 people have died from coronavirus and a million people have filed for unemployment. So far, her stay-at-home orders are working and the protests to reopen the state have not undermined her decisions to balance health and the state economy. 

Third is name recognition. A year ago, not many people outside national politics had heard of Gretchen Whitmer, but her management of the COVID-19 crisis in Michigan has thrust her into the national spotlight. Her high-profile disputes with President Donald Trump have attracted the attention of Democrats and independents, and raised her standing within the Biden camp. Whitmer has criticized Trump’s news conferences as unhelpful, pushed back on his recent immigration policy pronouncements, and has stuck to her focus on science and the production of testing swabs as ways to bend the pandemic curve in Michigan.

But, in my view, the most likely vice presidential candidates are Warren, Harris and Klobuchar — in that order.  

Warren gives Biden cover on his left and might bring along those reluctant Sen. Bernie Sanders voters, who believe the party is not progressive enough.

Harris breaks two barriers in becoming a vice president — something she did in becoming the second African-American woman elected to the Senate. She was attorney general of the largest state in the nation, which is not a governorship but gives her some leadership gravitas for running a big agency.  At 56, Harris adds a youthful and photogenic presence to the ticket. Importantly, she reflects the unique concerns of black Americans, who have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic owing to institutionalized racism and engrained poverty — issues she hit hard on the campaign. 

Klobuchar has publicly auditioned for the role of vice president with her enthusiastic rally immediately after quitting the race for her party's presidential nomination, which scored points with Biden. She has been a rising star of the Democratic Party since 2006, when she became Minnesota’s first female senator. Klobuchar is a solid, centrist choice who might woo some of the independents and conservatives who are unhappy with Trump but who would likely not vote for more progressive candidates like Warren. And she brings the Midwest — a part of the country Biden doesn’t have locked down. One negative for Klobuchar is her reputation for being hard on staff, but a good transition staff could iron out any prospective staffing arguments.

Noticeably absent from my top three is Abrams, another strong and popular African-American woman who has been publicly pressuring Biden to choose her. Abrams has an incredible personal story having been raised by two Methodist ministers in an impoverished home in Gulfport, Mississippi. She served in the Georgia House of Representatives but lost her race for governor, which leaves her with less experience in management in these COVID-19 times. Still, she would bring experience in fighting voter suppression and campaigning for voter turnout, but the health crisis has eclipsed her.

One reason for Biden to pick someone like Abrams over Warren, Klobuchar or Harris is that they are sitting senators. Democrats need to hang on to every seat in that chamber in a critical election year.

There is one final name that should never be discounted — the former first lady. Biden has said he would take Michelle Obama in a minute.

Pretty soon his minute will be up, and he will have to make a hard decision.

Tara D. Sonenshine is a former U.S. undersecretary of state in the Obama administration.