Biden confirms he’s considering Whitmer for VP

Former Vice President Joe Biden confirmed this week that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is one of the women he’s considering as a potential running mate in his White House bid.

Biden, who has already vowed to tap a woman as his vice presidential pick, said Tuesday night he’s been considering Whitmer for the role for months, but that he is eyeing as many as 10 potential candidates.

“She made the list in my mind two months ago. There’s probably going to be a list, I’m in the process of — Brian, we’ll have it by mid-April, putting together an organization that will run the background checks … by the second or third week in April,” Biden told MSNBC host Brian Williams.

“I’ve thought about some of the women who I believe are ready to be president and I think I can work with and would be willing to work with me. It’s going to be somewhere between six and 10 of them,” Biden continued.

Whitmer, a rising Democratic star who flipped Michigan’s governorship in 2018, has long been seen as a possible running mate for Biden. Whitmer runs a crucial swing state that Democrats will almost certainly have to win back in November to defeat President Trump, and she handed Biden a high-profile endorsement before the Wolverine State’s primary last month, which the former vice president ultimately won by double digits. 

Whitmer has also garnered national headlines and Democratic plaudits for her criticism of Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, comments that drew swift rebukes from the White House.

“Facing a dangerous abdication of leadership from Donald Trump during this pandemic, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been a tenacious fighter for Michigan families,” Biden said in a statement in Whitmer’s defense that fueled further speculation over her prospects for a spot on a national ticket. “Donald Trump could learn a thing or two from Governor Whitmer — speed matters, details matter, and people matter.”

Besides Whitmer, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and former minority leader of the Georgia state House Stacey Abrams, among others, have been floated as possible running mates for Biden.