It’s time for a black woman on the ticket
An African American vice-presidential candidate would increase enthusiasm and voter participation to bring out the millions that stayed home in 2016.
Joe Biden would do well to pick a woman of color as his running mate if he becomes the Democratic Party nominee. The former vice president must avoid picking another white male, or an all white ticket. South Carolinians came out for the primary and stood up to say they are backing the former vice president for president. Biden has a great backing and support within the African American community, they know Joe, and he knows them.
African American women, in particular, are the most influential part of our party, and so it would just amplify his already strong standing there. It has been clear for years that African American women are the backbone of this party, they come out, they support and they show up at the polls on election day. It’s about time that they should be represented on the Democratic ticket in November. Women of color are among the most loyal Democratic voters in the country — 94 percent of black women voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016, according to exit polls — making their preferences especially relevant to Joe Biden who has shown the largest support within the black community against rival Democratic candidate Senator Bernie Sanders.
The buzz has been present for some time. Prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus described the pairing of former vice president Joe Biden with Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) as the “dream ticket” Just this week House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) urged Joe Biden on Wednesday to pick a black woman as his running mate to “reward” them for loyalty to the Democratic Party if he is its presidential nominee.
We need record-high voter turnout of women of color to win battleground states in November. Now that both front-runners are white men. They need a woman of color for a vice president to inspire the base or they risk losing the White House. As a Senator, Kamala Harris is already known for going out to campaign for fellow Democrats running for either office or re-election. Together Joe and Kamala will help down the ballot races, keeping the House and hopefully gaining seats to win back the Senate as well in the fall.
Kamala Harris would fire up women in the Democratic base. Women need a fighter in the White House, and with Joe Biden who fought for women before and with Kamala Harris on the ticket, they would be assured that they would matter policy-wise and they would be believed to be the best ticket to take on the current president and win. That is the most important part.
Last and final thing to remember for those who say a black woman should not be or do not want them to be used as a pawn. Former vice president Joe Biden knows the job, the knows the position and everything that comes with the title, he is not going to use Kamala or a black woman then stick her on the shelf until it’s time for her to come back out again. He knows it’s important to work as a team, he has mentioned numerous times how he and former president Barack Obama worked as a team during their 8 years in the White House so you can expect the same type of treatment towards his vice presidential pick. Biden-Harris ticket is the type of leadership we truly need right now in this country during these times and I do believe that is a winning ticket.
