Joe Biden at a virtual event in April. Photo: JoeBiden.com via Getty Image
Joe Biden is one step closer to naming a running mate, announcing four co-chairs and a committee to vet candidates for a job he has committed to filling with a woman.
Driving the news: The vice presidential selection committee will be headed by Biden's longtime friend former Sen. Chris Dodd; Cynthia Hogan, a longtime aide and adviser who served as Biden's vice presidential counsel in the Obama White House; and two national campaign co-chairs, Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
- Biden's committee is forming as some supporters push for the presumptive Democratic nominee to name a woman of color; and amid calls for Biden to publicly address allegations by a former Senate staffer.
What they're saying: "These four co-chairs reflect the strength and diversity of our party, and will provide tremendous insight and expertise to what will be a a rigorous selection and vetting process," Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said in a statement.
- In 2016, Rep. Blunt Rochester became the first woman — and the first African American — to be elected to Congress from Delaware.
- The co-chairs also will coordinate with vetting teams inside the campaign to be led by former White House counsel Bob Bauer, former White House Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco and the Biden campaign's general counsel Dana Remus.
The big picture: While the Biden campaign has not released names it intends to consider, several prospective running mates come up consistently in conversations with Democratic operatives and have been polled by outside groups. These include:
- Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Catherine Cortez Masto.
- Rep. Val Demings.
- Stacey Abrams, former Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Georgia.
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
- Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that Catherine Cortez Masto is a senator, not a House member.