Biden says he will pick woman as VP

Former Vice President Joe Biden vowed on Sunday to choose a woman as his running mate if he wins the Democratic presidential nomination. 

“I commit that I will, in fact, pick a woman to be vice president,” Biden said at a Democratic presidential debate in Washington. “There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow.”

CNN moderator Dana Bash asked Biden again if he was committed to picking a woman after he answered a separate question, and the former vice president replied affirmatively. “Yes,” he said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he would “in all likelihood” pick a woman as his running mate if he could upset Biden and win the nomination. 

Sanders added that more important than choosing a woman as his running mate would be choosing a progressive to run alongside him. 

“There are progressive women out there,” he said.

Both candidates have come under pressure to choose women as their potential running mates, especially after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) dropped out of the presidential race. 

With Warren’s exit from the race, the Democratic nominating contest has come down to two white men in their 70s, a remarkable outcome in a primary field that began last year as the most diverse in U.S. history. 

Biden had previously expressed openness to choosing a woman as his running mate, but it wasn’t until Sunday that he made a firm commitment to doing so.

Tags 2020 election Bernie Sanders Dana Bash Democratic debate Elizabeth Warren Joe Biden running mate

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