Biden commits to picking woman as running mate if he wins nomination
Mar 15, 2020, 6:31 PM | Updated: 6:33 pm
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
PHOENIX — Leading Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said during Sunday’s debate he would pick a woman as his running mate if he won the nomination.
The former Vice President didn’t offer any hints on who he would choose for the position during the Washington D.C. debate.
Only two women in American political history have been vice presidential candidates.
Democrat Geraldine Ferraro was first in 1984. Republican Sarah Palin was the vice presidential candidate for former U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona in 2008.
“There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow,” Biden said. “I would pick a woman to be my vice president.”
NEW: Joe Biden says if elected he will choose a woman to be vice president pic.twitter.com/eq38FVbMau
— Axios (@axios) March 16, 2020
The proclamation was a highlight after Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders were looking to cast themselves as best-positioned to lead the nation through a global pandemic during Sunday’s debate.
Biden pledged to deploy the military to help with recovery efforts, while Sanders used the crisis to pitch his long-sought overhaul of the country’s health care system.
Biden and Sanders skipped a handshake at the beginning of the debate and greeted each other instead with an elbow bump.
Then they took their positions at podiums spaced 6 feet apart in keeping with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.