Joe Biden faces the most crucial decision of his 5-decade political career. It is to choose a vice president.

The assumptive Democratic presidential nominee expects to name a committee to vet potential running mates next week, according to 3 Democrats with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans. Biden, a former vice president himself, has committed to picking a woman and told donors this week that his team has discussed naming a choice well ahead of the Democratic convention in August.

Selecting a running mate is always crucial for a presidential candidate. But it’s an especially necessary calculation for the 77-year-old Biden, who, if he wins, would be the oldest American president in history. The decision carries added weight amid the coronavirus pandemic, which, beyond its death toll, threatens to devastate the world economy and define a prospective Biden administration.

“We’re still going to be in crisis or recovery, and you want a vice president who can manage that,” said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who worked for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. The vice president is “always important,” Finney added. But she pointed to Biden’s role in the Obama administration’s 2009-10 recovery efforts as evidence that a crisis chooses a running mate an even “more important decision than usual.”

Biden faces pressure on multiple fronts. He must consider the demands of his racially, ethnically and ideologically diverse party, especially the black women who propelled his nomination. He must balance those concerns with his stated desire for a “simpatico” partner who is “ready to be president on a moment’s notice.”

The campaign’s general counsel, Dana Remus, and former White House counsel Bob Bauer are gathering information about prospects. Democrats close to several presumed contenders say they’ve not yet been contacted.

Biden has offered plenty of hints. He’s said he can easily name 12 to 15 women who meet his criteria, but would likely seriously consider anywhere from six to 11 candidates. He’s given no indication of whether he’ll look to the Senate, where he spent six terms, to governors or elsewhere.

Several African American advocates and progressive leaders said the Democratic ticket’s policies and empathetic appeals are what’s most important.

Black voters “have to trust the messenger,” said Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of Black PAC, and “a black woman could stand up and have the moral authority to lead on those big issues facing the country right now.”

But she said that doesn’t mean a white, Asian or Latina vice presidential nominee couldn’t “speak to the systemic issues, the structural issues that allow for inequalities to persist.”

Source: AP news