Joe Biden Chooses His Running Mate

Kamala Harris was long considered the favorite
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 11, 2020 3:37 PM CDT
Updated Aug 11, 2020 3:54 PM CDT
Joe Biden Picks Kamala Harris for VP
In this June 27, 2019 photo, Sen. Kamala Harris listens to questions after the Democratic primary debate hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Art in Miami.   (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

The Democratic ticket in November will be Biden-Harris. After months of speculation that Joe Biden was most likely to pick Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, the presumptive Democratic nominee confirmed it Tuesday, the BBC reports. If elected, Harris will become the first female, first Black, and first Asian American vice president, reports NBC. "You make a lot of important decisions as president. But the first one is who you select to be your Vice President," Biden said in an email to supporters. "I’ve decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence and then to lead this nation starting in January 2021."

In a tweet, Biden described his former rival as "a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants." Harris and Biden are expected to speak in Wilmington Wednesday. The AP reports that Biden picked the 55-year-old Harris after an "expansive" search that also looked at Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Reps. Val Demings and Karen Bass, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice. Rice congratulated Harris Tuesday, calling her a "tenacious and trailblazing leader." (More Kamala Harris stories.)

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