Civil Rights Hero John Lewis Endorses Joe Biden, Suggests Woman of Color as VP
Civil rights hero and Georgia Democratic Congressman John Lewis endorsed Joe Biden Tuesday, and perhaps more importantly suggested the former VP select a woman of color as his running mate.
Rep. Lewis endorsed Biden in a statement that said “I have stared down the deepest, and darkest forces in this nation. Vice President Joe Biden and I both believe that we are in a fight to redeem the soul of America. I know Joe Biden as a man of character and dignity – A man who can not, and will not rest when he sees injustice in our American home. Joe Biden has no delusions about this nation’s past. But he knows who we can be at our best. A nation of love, freedom and equality. And, I will fight with him for that future.”
The Biden campaign also released a powerful video to accompany the endorsement, which connected Lewis’ remarks to his civil rights activism and the rise of white supremacy over the past several years.
Powerful as it is, the Lewis endorsement isn’t a huge surprise, as Biden has garnered the support of most of the Congressional Black Caucus and is nearly a lock for the Democratic nomination, but Rep. Lewis’ remarks on a conference call with reporters were
“It would be good to have a woman of color, it would be good to have a woman” as a running mate, Lewis told reporters, and went on to add that “we have plenty of able women, some are white, Latino, Asian American, Native American. I think the time has long passed for making the White House look like the whole of America.”
Vice President Biden said, in August, that he would prefer a woman of color as his running mate, made an explicit pledge to select a woman as running mate at the last debate. and has repeatedly praised California Senator Kamala Harris in the context of the vice presidency.
But since the Democratic field narrowed, there has been a lot of pitching of other women as Biden’s running mate, including Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren, and more recently of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
There would be little political upside to Biden throwing cold water on the prospects for any qualified woman, but Lewis’ strong suggestion could focus attention back on Senator Harris. Rep. Lewis is extremely influential with Democrats, particularly the black Democrats who propelled Biden to victory in South Carolina and revived his campaign.
In a recent Fox News poll, 63 percent of voters nationwide approved of Biden’s pledge to select a woman, including 86 percent of Democrats. The poll showed little difference in performance (within 2 points) between a Biden/Harris ticket, a Warren ticket, and a Klobuchar ticket, all of which defeated a ticket of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
But in the only national poll of just black voters this cycle, more than a quarter said that a black VP choice was “important,” a sign that Biden’s VP pick could have big implications for black turnout in November.
Watch the endorsement video above via Joe Biden’s campaign.
