Joe Biden’s vice presidential running mate race narrows to Kamala Harris or Susan Rice, report says

Senator Kamala Harris or former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice emerge as Joe Biden’s probable running mate.

The field appears to have narrowed for Joe Biden's vice presidential running mate to Kamala Harris, left, and Susan Rice. Pictures: AFP

Joe Biden is reported to have narrowed his choice for a Vice Presidential running mate to just two women, California Senator Kamala Harris and former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice.

The report, by Axios, is based on talks with a dozen Biden confidants but it cautions that only the former Vice President knows for sure who he is seriously considering.

The report came as it was announced that Mr Biden would not travel to Milwaukee this month to accept his Democratic presidential nomination.

The decision, made because of the risks posed by the coronavirus, means the Democratic National Convention, scheduled for the week beginning August 17, will be an entirely virtual convention.

Donald Trump, who has also dropped plans to attend a scaled-down Republican National Convention to accept his nomination, has floated the idea of giving his nomination speech in the White House Rose Garden.

According to Axios, “Confidants of Joe Biden believe his choices for vice president have narrowed to Senator Kamala Harris and Susan Rice and would be surprised if he picks anyone else.’

“This is a snapshot of the nearly unanimous read that we get from more than a dozen people close to him.’

Mr Biden is currently interviewing around half a dozen short-listed candidates for the position. He initially said he would make an announcement this week but he is not expected to announce his choice until sometime next week.

Senator Harris, a 55 year old former prosecutor, has long been the favourite for the position given her legislative experience and her friendship with Mr Biden’s late son Beau.

But Ms Rice, who is also 55, is said to have become a serious contender in recent weeks on the back of her White House experience when she served as national security Adviser from 2013 to 2017. Mr Biden has said he will choose a woman for the role, and is under pressure from the party’s progressives to choose a black woman at a time of racial tension and unrest.

But Mr Biden’s search for a vice presidential candidate has been a broad one. Other contenders on his shortlist reportedly include California Democrat Karen Bass, Florida Democrat and former Orlando police chief Val Demings, Atlanta mayor Keisha Bottoms, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, former presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams.

His advisers say he is looking for a potential vice president who is compatible with his politics and personality and who doesn’t present a juicy target for the Trump campaign in the coming months.

The mayor of Los Angeles Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a co-chair of Mr Biden’s running mate selection committee, said this week said there were “amazing women that have been a part of this process. We’re keeping them all, we’ve vetted them heavily, all of them have passed the vet, and now in this next week, week and a half, Mr Biden can spend some time with them.”

Obama supporters are pushing Ms Rice’s candidacy, saying her broad experience in national security would be an important asset to Mr Biden as president.

But Ms Rice also poses some risk, with Republicans likely to target her for national security setbacks under her watch including initial misstatements she made about the Benghazi attacks.

Senator Harris’ VP prospects were seen as damaged during the Democrat primary campaign when she sharply attacked Mr Biden in a debate, angering his wife Jill.

But Jill Biden and Senator Harris have since reconciled and Ms Biden has since become a strong advocate of the Senator.

Mr Biden’s absence from Milwaukee means the Democratic convention will be entirely virtual with major speeches and events held in virtual form from all parts of the country.

“From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez. “We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That’s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves. And that’s the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House.”

Mr Trump initially moved parts of the Republican convention from Charlotte to Jacksonville so that he could hold a large traditional acceptance speech celebration. But as coronavirus infection rates soared in the south, he cancelled the Jacksonville event, leaving only a one-day event in Charlotte where delegates will nominate him in a low key ceremony without his attendance.

The moves rob both Mr Biden and Mr Trump of the traditional large pageantry of a Convention to kick off their campaign. The spread of the virus means it is also unlikely that either candidate will be about to hold traditional campaign rallies ahead of the November 3 poll.

(Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia)