Tipsheet

BREAKING: Biden Selects His Running Mate

Former Vice President Joe Biden finally announced his running mate after weeks of speculation. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) will run beside Biden in the general election in November. Biden’s announcement comes less than a week before the Democratic National Convention (DNC) where he will formally accept the party’s nomination.

Sen. Harris bested multiple other vice presidential contenders, including Susan Rice, Stacey Abrams, Elizabeth Warren, Keisha Lance-Bottoms, Karen Bass, Gretchen Whitmer and Tammy Duckworth. 

While Sen. Harris was viewed as the favorite to be Biden’s running mate, his pick is ultimately puzzling given that Sen. Harris deemed Biden’s record on race problematic:

Sen. Harris’s elevation to run beside Biden also contradicts the former vice president’s rhetoric on policing. Biden recently came out in favor of “redirecting” funding for law enforcement, and has sprinted to the left on a host of issues including the demonization of police. While attempting to appeal to progressive voters with anti-law enforcement rhetoric, Sen. Harris's own record receives backlash from the far-left block that Biden hopes to appease. During her time as San Francisco's District Attorney, and later as California's Attorney General, Harris embraced an anti-truancy program that threatened parents of children who skipped school with criminal prosecution. Her history of prosecuting people of color disproportionately, and fighting wrongful convictions, also stained her run for the presidency. Framing Harris as a progressive, given her problematic prosecutorial record, is seen as an uphill battle for Biden as he hopes to court far-left voters. Sen. Harris received criticism for her prosecution record during her run for president:

While Sen. Harris is viewed as not progressive enough by the far-left, her voting record in the upper chamber and stances taken while running for president indicate otherwise. Sen. Harris supported Medicare for All, once endorsing the elimination of private health insurance all together. She also supports the Green New Deal, which would overhaul the American energy sector and eliminate millions of jobs.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and President Trump say that Biden's selection of Sen. Harris indicates his shift to the left:

Biden and Harris are set to make a joint appearance tomorrow.