Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) said Sunday she would be “willing to serve” should Joe Biden ask her to be his vice presidential running mate.
“As a young black girl growing up in Mississippi, I learned that if I didn’t speak up for myself no one else would,” Abrams told “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd. “I was raised to tell the truth, so when I’m asked a question, I answer it as directly and honestly as I can. So my mission is to say out loud, if I’m asked the question: Yes, I would be willing to serve.”
Abrams, a former leader of the Georgia House Democratic Party, narrowly lost her 2018 bid for governor, but has remained a high profile figure in the Democratic establishment. She has spent the last month waging a public bid to become Biden’s pick, building on comments made to The New York Times last year that she would be “honored to be considered any nominee.”
Biden said last month he would pick a woman as his running mate, noting during the final Democratic debate there were “a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow.”
Names that have been floated include Biden’s former competitors, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Choosing someone from the Senate, however, could imperil the party’s chances at gaining control of the chamber in the November elections, leaving some to wonder if Biden’s gaze will extend to others.
The former vice president said he will choose a selection committee for his running mate by May 1, and announce his choice in July.
Abrams has faced some criticism about her experience, and Todd asked Sunday if she felt her loss in 2018 could hamper her bid to become vice president. But Abrams pushed back against such concerns.
“For the last year and a half, I have run three national organizations including Fair Fight 2020, which is in 18 states protecting the right to vote. I’ve been traveling the country promoting a census that is accurate and that helps us prepare for the next pandemic and for redistricting,” she said. “I believe in doing the work. I’ve been doing it since the day I did not become governor and I will continue to do so.”
She also noted in an interview with The Atlantic last week her campaign efforts in Georgia, which saw record turnout during a midterm election, would be a boon to Biden, who has struggled to appeal to some voting blocs.
“If you look at what we were able to accomplish in Georgia,” she said, “the growth of the numbers and the composition of the voters, I would put my capacity to win an election as the VP running mate alongside anyone’s.”
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