Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a Purple Heart recipient and Iraq War veteran, has emerged as a serious contender to be former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate, three people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post.
Duckworth is a "highly decorated woman," former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told the Post, and the Biden team is taking a close look at her. Biden has promised to choose a woman as his running mate, and said he would reveal his pick by Aug. 1.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Duckworth is of Thai Chinese descent, and in the wake of the anti-racism protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, many people are pushing Biden to choose a Black woman as his running mate. During an interview on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Duckworth said Black female voters are "a key to the victory for Democrats" and she is certain Biden "will pick the right person to be next to him as he digs this country out of the mess that Donald Trump has put us in."
Republicans are ready to pounce on Biden's eventual running mate, the Post reports, as many believe this person will be an easier target than Biden. Dan Eberhart, an oil executive and one of President Trump's donors, told the Post the GOP is "more likely than ever to hammer the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Biden is boxed in by the progressives in the party — he has to pick a woman and someone who is relatively far to the left of himself. That's going to provide natural openings for the campaign to draw contrasts."
-
Ssh! UK libraries worth travelling forThe Week Recommends From architectural delights to a ‘literary oasis’, these are some of the best libraries around the country
-
A fentanyl vaccine may be on the horizonUnder the radar Taking a serious jab at the opioid epidemic
-
The 8 best comedy TV series of 2025the week recommends From quarterlife crises to Hollywood satires, these were the funniest shows of 2025
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
