Joe Biden, The Dem candidate whose odds of winning the nomination are obvious to everyone other than Bernie Sanders himself, pledged to choose a woman as his Vice President for the general election should he win the nomination, and ever since there have been rumors swirling about who he would pick.... The most obvious thoughts were Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, or even Amy Klobuchar.
Recently though, a leak from Bidens camp indicates that Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is in the 'top three' of his choices for who he would like as VP. After some casual research, I think she is the best fit to be Biden's VP compared to the three previous I mentioned before. Here's why
Why Kamala Harris is not a good fit = Biden picking Harris as his VP, as a nod to her early strength in the race, would also be a nod to African Americans, who in South Carolina are almost single-handedly responsible for launching Biden back into the race and then well into the lead following up on Super Tuesday.... The thing is though, Biden will almost certainly win the African American vote no matter who is his VP.... Being Obama's VP gives him more credit with black voters than any person of color he could select as his Vice President, so having Kamala Harris fill that spot doesnt really bring anything to the table for him that he doesnt already have.
Why Elizabeth Warren is not a good fit = To say that Biden and Warren are very ideologically apart from each other, at least by Dem standards, is an understatement. They more often then not have been on differing sides of issues that polarized the Dem base for the better part of 10 years now, and they sure as shit didn't buddy-up in the primary either. One line of thinking was that Warren should be Biden's VP to help bring out the progressive voters, who sure as shit dont like Biden, but Warren no longer really has that voting bloc behind her. A large portion of the progressive base eventually ended up in Sanders' camp who believe hes the only one that represents them and that Warren sold out. Having Warren be selected as VP would not necessarily bring much to the table for Biden since Warren pretty clearly does not have much of the progressive bloc behind her anymore. Where Kamala can give Biden something he already has (African American support), Warren would probably fail to deliver that which Biden doesnt have (The Progressive Base)...... There's also lots of baggage she would bring to the ticket and how she could be a uniting force for the GOP to turn out in opposition, and could make the contest tighter when a VP selection is meant to tip the odds more in ones favor.
Why Amy Klobuchar is not a good fit = I have openly admitted in the past that if Klobuchar had polled as well as Biden nationally and early in the primary that i would have supported her to be the nominee over Biden. She's a moderate Democrat like Biden with a better speaking ability with 90% less gaffes. The issue for Klobuchar on why she would not be a good fit for Biden as his VP is the same issue for why she didnt get the nomination herself: She doesnt have a national profile. Outside of Minnesota, Klobuchar isnt going to bring voters to the Biden ticket who werent already pretty close to supporting him in the first place. Maybe she would have a good effect in Wisconsin which as a swing state is one Biden needs to carry to win the nomination, but outside of the upper midwest, Klobuchar being next to Biden's name on the ticket isnt going to sway many people.
Now comes the big differences
Why Catherine Cortez Masto is a good fit = Despite only being a senator for 3 years and not really standing out the way other female Dems have (AOC), Catherine Cortez Masto does bring many things to the table as a possible VP candidate....
For one, she comes from Nevada, a swing state which makes the area of substantial importance going into the general election.
Second, she is Latina. Not only Latina, she is the first Latina Senator to be elected to the US Senate in history. Biden HAS struggled with the Hispanic vote in the country in the primary, that bloc has gone with Bernie more often then not. If Catherine Cortez Masto is able to increase Hispanic turnout for the Dem ticket, assuming she would as the first Latina nominated as VP, that would be a massive boost for Biden.
Third, if the boost in support from Hispanic voters is great enough, it allows opportunity for Biden to become more competitive in states that have big Latino populations, such as Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida, all of which are either in solid swing state territory or drifting dangerously close to it. Even if a Biden-Masto ticket doesnt ultimately win Texas and Arizona, their increased ability to compete in those states could force the Trump team to focus money on those states in order to keep them, which is less money they will be able to spend on other swing states. In terms of electoral math, appointing Masto as VP opens up many inroads in southwestern states that could make Biden's job of winning much easier.
Fourth, Masto doesnt have a lot of baggage. Warren has more then enough baggage to fire up GOP opposition, Harris has caught some criticism for actions as Attorney General in the past, but Masto is so new to the political realm that there isn't any glaring problems to her past so far. A VP should do everything in their power to NOT bring negative attention to a campaign while at the same time bringing a lot of positive things to the table, and Masto's short political career in the Senate immunizes her from having to deal with scandalous votes from the past.
So not only does Masto not have a lot of baggage to deal with should she be selected as VP, she would vastly benefit Biden's competitiveness in southern states, increase his support among latino voters who he has struggled with in the primary, and ultimately be able to bring more to the ticket then Harris or Warren or Klobuchar could.
If Biden's goal is to position his campaign to go into the general election with the easiest path to winning, then having Catherine Cortez Masto as his VP would arguably be the best choice he could make (since he is limiting himself to choosing a female candidate)
If Biden's goal is to position his campaign to go into the general election with the easiest path to winning, then having Catherine Cortez Masto as his VP would arguably be the best choice he could make (since he is limiting himself to choosing a female candidate)
