This article lists potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...

in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: ** ...

. Former Vice President Joe Biden of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

, the 2020 Democratic nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, considered several prominent Democrats and other individuals before selecting Senator

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as her running mate on August 11, 2020. Harris formally won the vice presidential nomination on August 19, 2020, at the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

. The Biden–Harris ticket would go on to win the 2020 election, defeating the incumbent Republican ticket of

Trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...

–

Pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...

. In March 2020, Biden promised to select a woman as his running mate, which marked the third time that the vice presidential nominee of a major party in the United States has been a woman, after

Geraldine Ferraro Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Harris became the vice president upon

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

in January 2021 alongside President Joe Biden. She is the first woman to be vice president of the United States, making her the highest-ranking woman in U.S. history, and she is also the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

and

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

vice president.

Selection process

At the March 15, 2020 Democratic primary debate between former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...

of Vermont, Biden committed to selecting a woman as his running mate. At that same debate, Sanders stated that he would likely do the same, but did not pledge to do so. Biden became the presumptive presidential nominee after Sanders dropped out on April 8, though the Democratic ticket would not be officially nominated until the

in August 2020. With his pledge, his running mate became the third woman to be the vice presidential nominee of a major party in United States history, following Democrat

and Republican

. Biden indicated that he would make his selection on the basis of shared political beliefs and past experience. He noted that his selection would likely be younger than he is and that he would likely pick someone who is "ready on Day 1 to be president." On April 30, it was announced that the vetting committee would consist of

Lisa Blunt Rochester Lisa LaTrelle Blunt Rochester (née Blunt; born February 10, 1962) also known by her initials LBR, is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman and first ...

Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...

Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 election, and reelected in 2017. A f ...

, and Cynthia Hogan.

Announcement

Biden had initially planned to make his announcement regarding his running mate selection "around" August 1. The announcement date was later pushed back to the second week in August. On August 11, it was reported that Biden had selected his running mate and an announcement was imminent. Later that day,

was revealed as Biden's vice presidential running mate. Harris was the junior

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

from

, first elected in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. She additionally has experience as the

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Secti ...

San Francisco District Attorney The San Francisco District Attorney's Office is the legal agency charged with prosecuting crimes in the City and County of San Francisco, California. The current district attorney is Brooke Jenkins. Occupants of this office have gone on to high ...

, and as a

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

. Harris was a candidate in the

2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Un ...

, before suspending her campaign in December 2019, later endorsing Biden's campaign in March 2020. Harris was the third woman vice presidential running mate of a major party and the first

. Harris additionally is the first Democrat from the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

to appear on a presidential ticket;

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

was born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, a Western state, but was nominated as a representative of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

Vetting process

Finalists

On August 13, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported the four finalists were

Susan Rice Susan Elizabeth Rice (born November 17, 1964) is an American diplomat, policy advisor, and public official serving as Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Rice served as the 27th U.S ...

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...

, and

Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 ...

. File:Kamala Harris official photo (cropped).jpg, File:Susan Rice official photo (cropped).jpg, File:Elizabeth Warren by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg, File:Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (cropped).jpg,

Shortlist

The Biden campaign was reported to have begun the vetting process of potential running mates in May 2020. The following officials were reported to have undergone vetting by the Biden campaign. However, following the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internat ...

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minn ...

was criticized for her lack of prosecution of police misconduct during her tenure as

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapo ...

County Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...

, including a case involving the officer who murdered Floyd. On June 18, she announced that she had removed herself from consideration and urged for Biden to select a

woman of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

. On June 12, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

reported that

Keisha Lance Bottoms Keisha Lance Bottoms (born January 18, 1970) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 60th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2018 to 2022. She was elected mayor in 2017. Before becoming mayor, she was a member of the Atlanta City ...

Val Demings Valdez Venita Demings (née Butler; born March 12, 1957) is an American politician and former police officer serving as the U.S. representative from since 2017. The district covers most of the western half of Orlando and includes much of the a ...

Michelle Lujan Grisham Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham (; born October 24, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of governors of New Mexico, 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, and

had advanced to further stages in the vetting process, with the possibility that some other vetted candidates had as well. On June 26, CNN reported that Bottoms, Demings, Harris, and Warren were at that point the leading candidates for the nomination. On July 29, just a week before Biden's initially planned announcement, ''

The Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' reported that

Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician, social worker and former physician assistant who is serving as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Bass had previously served in the U.S ...

, Harris, Rice, and Warren had emerged as the "top tier" of candidates. On August 2, CNN reported that

Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented ...

and

were also still under consideration. On August 10, ''

'' reported that Biden's running mate committee had finished interviewing the possible candidates and that an announcement was "imminent". In addition to the four finalists, the following individuals were reported to be on Biden's shortlist. File:Tammy Baldwin, official portrait, 113th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Karen-Bass-2012 (cropped).jpg, File:Atlanta City Hall (46792855394) (cropped).jpg, File:Val Demings, Official Portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Tammy Duckworth 115th official portrait (cropped).jpg, File:Maggie Hassan, official portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Amy Klobuchar, official portrait, 113th Congress (cropped closein3x4).jpg, File:Michelle Lujan Grisham official photo (cropped).jpg, File:Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island.jpg,

Declined to be considered

The following individuals publicly confirmed that they had declined to be vetted by the Biden campaign. Catherine Cortez Masto official portrait.jpg, File:Shaheen Senate Portrait.jpg ,

Media speculation about other potential running mates

The following individuals received coverage as potential running mates from multiple news sources, but were not reported to have been asked to undergo vetting by the Biden campaign.

Federal executive branch officials

Julián Castro's Official HUD Portrait (cropped).jpg, Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg, Janet Napolitano official portrait (cropped).jpg, Hilda Solis Secrétaire au travail (cropped_3x4).jpg, File:Condoleezza Rice cropped.jpg, Sally Q. Yates (cropped).jpg,

Members of Congress

File:Cheri Bustos official photo.jpg, File:Veronica Escobar official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Marcia Fudge 116th Congress photo (cropped).jpg, File:Tulsi Gabbard, official portrait, 113th Congress (cropped 3).jpg, File:Sylvia Garcia, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Kirsten Gillibrand, official photo, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Tim Kaine 116th official portrait (cropped).jpg, File:Joe Kennedy III, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Ro Khanna, official portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Barbara Lee official portrait (cropped).jpg, File:Katie Porter, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Ayanna Pressley Portrait (cropped).jpg, File:Lucille Roybal-Allard official photo.jpg, File:Bernie Sanders.jpg, File:Kim Schrier, official portrait, 116th Congress.jpg, File:Terri Sewell official photo.jpg, File:Kyrsten Sinema (cropped).jpg, File:Debbie Stabenow, official photo, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Congresswoman Waters official photo (cropped).jpg,

Governors

File:Andrew Cuomo by Pat Arnow cropped.jpeg, File:Laura Kelly official photo.jpg, File:Deval Patrick official photo (cropped).jpg,

Mayors

File:Muriel Bowser official photo.jpg, File:Pete Buttigieg by Gage Skidmore.jpg, File:Andrew Gillum.jpg,

Other individuals

File:Stacey Abrams in May 2018a.jpg, File:Michelle Obama 2013 official portrait (cropped 3x4 closein).jpg, File:Josh Shapiro in 2019.jpg,

Opinion polling

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. S ...

/''

'' poll released on June 26, 2020 found that over 80% of respondents said that race should not be a factor in Biden's selection. A ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

''/

Morning Consult Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company established in 2014. It was named one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America by Deloitte in both 2018 and 2019 and was valued at more than one billion dollars in Jun ...

poll released on July 15, 2020, found that 54% of respondents felt that Biden's VP pick will not affect their vote, 16% said it would have a major impact, and 20% said only a minor impact.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, 2020 2020 in women's history Joe Biden Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign Vice presidency of the United States Michael Bloomberg Steve Bullock (American politician) Pete Buttigieg Julian Castro Hillary Clinton Andrew Cuomo Tulsi Gabbard Kirsten Gillibrand Kamala Harris Tim Kaine Amy Klobuchar Michelle Obama Nancy Pelosi Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren