Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is expected to announce his choice for a running mate any day now, and given his pledge to select a woman of color, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) is thought by many to be the clear frontrunner among the pack.
Tom Bevan, co-founder and president of RealClearPolitics, revealed on Monday that he believes Harris to be the most likely choice for Biden because she “checks all the boxes” the party base wants ticked and is considered the “least risky” of all of the possible candidates, Fox News reported.
“Least risky choice”
During an appearance Monday on Fox News’ Bill Hemmer Reports, Bevan was asked to weigh in on the ongoing “veepstakes” and make a prediction about who the former vice president would choose to be his own vice president, should he win the election in November.
“If I was a betting man, I’d probably go with the favorite, Kamala Harris, just because she, I think, checks all the boxes and is the least risky choice,” Bevan said to host Bill Hemmer.
“She has stature, being a senator. She’s vetted, from running her presidential campaign, and I think Biden is risk-averse, I don’t think he wants to take a big risk, and I don’t think his folks think he needs to take a big risk at this point given where he stands in the polls,” he added.
“Bridge to the future”
Bevan went on to suggest that, aside from Harris, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice seemed to be the next logical choice to be Biden’s running mate, due to their friendly relationship from having served together in the prior Obama administration.
He also suggested that all of the discussion and debate over other potential candidates was merely purposeful disinformation and a show designed to gin up more excitement ahead of the pick.
That said, Bevan did admit that there was a substantial measure of importance to whom Biden ultimately picks, not just because of his age and apparent mental health status, but also because his VP choice “represents, really, the bridge to the future of the Democratic Party,” Fox News reported.
Already a done deal?
As noted, Harris has been considered the frontrunner to be Biden’s choice for a while now, though it should be noted that reportedly not everybody in Biden’s camp is on board with such a selection. A CNBC report from late July, shared anonymous reports of a behind-the-scenes campaign among some of Biden’s supporters to block Harris from receiving the nod.
The general consensus among those opposing Harris was that she was too ambitious and couldn’t be trusted to be loyal to Biden, given her ruthless attacks on him during the early Democratic primary debates in which she questioned his commitment to civil rights.
Nevertheless, as Bevan alluded, all of the discussion about the veepstakes could be for show, and the choice of Harris could be a fait accompli, considering the accidental publication by Politico of an article announcing Harris as the choice, complete with a false quote from Biden himself, all of which was quickly deleted, according to The Hill.
We will likely know if Harris is indeed Biden’s choice within the next day or two, and then the games can truly begin in earnest.
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