- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met with Joe Biden last Sunday, days before the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee was expected to announce his running mate, the Associated Press reported.
- Whitmer, who’s long been on Mr. Biden’s shortlist, is the first candidate known to have interviewed with Biden in person, according to The Washington Post.
- Biden is expected to announce his pick for vice president next week.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Delaware last Sunday to meet with Joe Biden, just days before the presumptive Democratic nominee is expected to announce his running mate, the Associated Press reported.
Whitmer, who’s long been on Mr. Biden’s shortlist of nominees, is the first candidate known to have interviewed with him in person, according to The Washington Post.
Biden campaign insiders told the newspaper that Whitmer has recently gained attention as a potential nominee. Biden, who vowed to choose a woman as his running mate months ago, previously said he’d make his pick this week, but now the decision is expected to come next week.
“I’ve narrowed it down, and I’ll be ready to make that announcement,” Mr. Biden said Thursday at a virtual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. “You’ll find out shortly.”
Should Biden pick a woman and win the November election, his running mate would be the first woman to serve as vice president in the US.
Where Whitmer stands - and who she's up against
Whitmer, known for instituting an aggressive stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic, has been on Biden's shortlist of candidates for several months. In a March interview with MSNBC, Biden said "she made the list, in my mind, two months ago."
Whitmer served 14 years in the state legislature of Michigan, a state President Trump narrowly won in 2016. She was elected two years later as governor in a landslide victory.
Other top contenders for the VP pick include California Sen. Kamala Harris and Susan Rice, the former Obama administration national security advisor, in addition to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and California Rep. Karen Bass, The Post reported.
- Read more:
- California Rep. Maxine Waters says Biden 'can't go home' without choosing a Black woman as his running mate
- As Biden considers a historic VP pick, Joe Lieberman reflects on breaking a different barrier - and how he got caught in his underwear by the TV stakeouts.
- As Susan Rice emerges as one of Biden's top choices for vice president, Trump allies struggle to cast her as an 'extreme leftist,' a tag they've slapped on the other contenders
- Kamala Harris is reportedly losing favorite status in the tumultuous Biden veepstakes. Here's why.