As I watched results from Super Tuesday’s elections come in, I remembered that California’s junior Senator Kamala Harris had not endorsed in the presidential race after dropping out like some of her competitors did. Good move for her, I thought, because it puts her in a place that she could be called on as the vice-presidential candidate by either of the Democratic frontrunners, Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders.
Now a betting site, BetOnline.ag, has established Harris at the favorite to be tapped as the vice-presidential candidate at 5 to 2 odds.
There are pros and cons to her being chosen, as there would be with any candidate. But Harris does make sense in a way if either Biden or Sanders captures the nomination.
In fact, Biden said Kamala Harris would make a good vice-presidential candidate. She would fill the desire of many Democrats to express diversity on the ticket and, at the same time, given her prosecutorial background, she could handle the traditional role of VP candidates to be an aggressive attacker for the ticket.
This is especially true in Biden’s case since a key message for him going against Donald Trump is to bring civility back to public debate. Leave it to his VP candidate to wield the bloody political sword.
Even though Harris notably skewered Biden in an earlier debate on the issue of race, putting her on the ticket wipes out that history.
Sanders, after being thumped in South Carolina and in other states with large African-American voting blocs, has belatedly reached out to that core Democratic constituency trying to attach himself to former President Barack Obama. He can do some healing on that front by naming Harris.
Sanders said his vice-presidential candidate would have to agree with his keystone policy of Medicare for All. Harris was there at one time, but pulled back to soften her position, saying it would take time. That move hurt her campaign, but Sanders could easily look past that if political points are to be made by adding the California senator to the ticket.
Neither candidate needs Harris’s connection to California since the Golden State is already in the bag for whoever is the Democratic nominee. Her addition to the ticket would satisfy other requirements in searching for a VP candidate.
If Harris is selected by either frontrunner, and the Democrats take the White House in November, that opens the Senate seat in California for Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint Harris’ successor.
Gavin should expect a lot of powerful Democrats, who see themselves as a U.S. Senator, to be especially nice to him over the next few months.
And, while I don’t fit the criteria the governor would look at in choosing a senator replacement, I want to remind him that as I near full retirement I’m looking for something to do.