- During Sunday night’s CNN Democratic presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden fully committed to picking a woman as his running mate.
- When asked by the moderator Dana Bash, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont was less committal, saying he would pick a woman “in all likelihood.”
- Both candidates are in their 70s and have drawn heavy speculation over potential vice-president picks.
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During Sunday night’s Democratic presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden committed to nominating a woman to become his running mate, while Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont stopped short of a full commitment.
After saying he would appoint a black woman to the US Supreme Court, Biden said he would also pick a female running mate.
“Secondly, if I’m elected president, my cabinet, my administration will look like the country, and I commit that I will, in fact, pick a woman to be vice president,” Biden said. “There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow. I will pick a woman to be my vice president.”
Biden had previously indicated he would prefer a woman to be on the ticket, telling a New Hampshire voter he could think of “seven women off the top of my head” who could be his running mate.
"In all likelihood I will," Sanders said when pressed by the CNN moderator Dana Bash about picking a woman as his vice president. "For me it's not just nominating a woman. It is making sure that we have a progressive woman, and there are progressive women out there.
"So it's my very strong tendency to move in that direction."
Joe Biden commits to choosing a woman as his running mate at CNN's #DemDebate. Bernie Sanders says "in all likelihood" he will too. https://t.co/BMja4ohwcv pic.twitter.com/DJn5ZceWEm
— CNN (@CNN) March 16, 2020
Because of their age, both candidates, who are in their 70s, have drawn heavy speculation over potential vice-president picks.
Democratic strategists and political scientists have noted there are other assets that could help their general-election prospects, such as a running mate's political ideology or home state.