Or Harris/Biden. Lots of dream team combos in this race. It’s exciting.
The Congressional Black Caucus may have found an answer to its Joe Biden dilemma: Vice President Kamala Harris.
Some black lawmakers are agonizing over whether to back Biden or two members of the close-knit caucus — Sens. Harris and Cory Booker — who are also vying for the White House, according to interviews with a dozen CBC members.
But with the former vice president jumping out to a huge, if early, lead in the polls, several CBC members are warming to the idea of a Biden-Harris ticket to take on President Donald Trump.
“That would be a dream ticket for me, a dream ticket!” said Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.). “If she is not the nominee, that would be a dream ticket for this country.”
Harris is everything the 76-year-old Biden is not. The freshman senator from California is younger, a woman and a person of color. As Biden gets dinged for his bipartisan bromides, Harris is winning applause from progressives for her merciless cross-examination of Trump officials.
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“Either combination there, I’d love,” said Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.). “I think he’s going to look to balance his ticket so that the ticket itself is more appealing. … I think it would make sense and it wouldn’t surprise me if he picked a woman of color.”
No one in the caucus is declaring Biden the winner of a presidential race that has nearly two dozen candidates and is still nine months away from the first primary contest. And Democrats cautioned that they’re not counting out Harris or Booker and would be thrilled if either won the Democratic nomination. Both senators have actively courted members of the CBC.
Yet there is no question that Biden — thanks in part to his close relationship with Obama — is popular with African-American voters, according to several polls since he entered the race. That support inside the black community translates into backing from black lawmakers as well.
“But for the fact that we have two of our own who are both quite capable of being president, I’d say probably a lot of the members would’ve already announced for Biden,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).
Were Biden to prevail in the fight for the nomination, Harris would be many members’ preferred vice presidential pick.
“If [Biden] becomes the nominee, that certainly would be my choice,” said Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), a senior member of the caucus. “Right now, I’m still believing that Harris can be the top of the ticket.”
“It would absolutely be a very strong ticket, no question about that,” Fudge added. “1 and 2, 2 and 1. Either way, it would be great.”