Former Vice President Joe Biden has narrowed his search for a running mate to six candidates, all women, Democrats familiar with the process have told the Associated Press.
Five of the six candidates are women of color.
According to the Associated Press, Biden’s search committee is vetting California Sen. Kamala Harris, former Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Florida Rep. Val Demings, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the only white candidate on the list.
Biden pledged during a Democratic party debate on March 15 to select a female running mate. Pressure has mounted in the wake of tensions over the police-involved death of George Floyd for Biden to also choose a woman of color.
Notably absent from the list are Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Stacey Abrams, who ran for Georgia governor in 2018.
Klobuchar came under scrutiny last month following an allegation that in 2006, when she served as Hennepin county prosecutor, she declined to prosecute Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed Floyd.
Klobuchar’s office has disputed the story, saying that the 2006 incident involving Chauvin occurred weeks before Klobuchar was elected to the Senate. A grand jury declined to charge Chauvin after Klobuchar had already joined the Senate.
Warren and Harris have been considered the frontrunners in the Biden veepstakes, thanks in large part to their own presidential candidacies.
Harris was one of Biden’s most ardent critics during the Democratic debates. Last June, she ripped into Biden over his comments in the 1970s praising pro-segregation Democratic senators.
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
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