This article lists the candidates for the Democratic nomination for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

in the 2020 presidential election. Former Vice President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, the 2020 Democratic nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, considered several prominent Democrats and other individuals before selecting Senator

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

as his running mate on August 11, 2020. Harris formally won the vice presidential nomination on August 19, 2020, at the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtual ...

. The Biden–Harris ticket would go on to defeat the Trump–Pence ticket in the general election. In March 2020, Biden promised to select a woman as his running mate, which marked the third time that the vice presidential nominee of a major party in the United States has been a woman, after

Geraldine Ferraro Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice presiden ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. Harris became the vice president upon

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

in January 2021 alongside President Biden. She is the first woman to be vice president of the United States, making her the highest-ranking woman in U.S. history, and she is also the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

and

Black American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

vice president. She would go on to become the Democratic presidential nominee in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

after Biden withdrew his bid from re-election, but ultimately lost to former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in the general election.

Selection process

At the March 15, 2020, Democratic primary debate between former Vice President

and Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

of Vermont, Biden committed to selecting a woman as his running mate. At that same debate, Sanders stated that he would likely do the same, but did not pledge to do so. Biden became the presumptive presidential nominee after Sanders dropped out on April 8, though the Democratic ticket would not be officially nominated until the

in August 2020. With his pledge, his running mate became the third woman to be the vice presidential nominee of a major party in United States history, following Democrat

and Republican

. Biden indicated that he would make his selection on the basis of shared political beliefs and past experience. He noted that his selection would likely be younger than he is and that he would likely pick someone who is "ready on Day 1 to be president." On April 30, it was announced that the vetting committee would consist of

Lisa Blunt Rochester Lisa LaTrelle Blunt Rochester (née Blunt; born February 10, 1962) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Delaware. From 2017 to 2025, she served as the U.S. representative for . A member of the ...

Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...

Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to India, United States ambassador to India from 2023 to 2025. He was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles f ...

, and Cynthia Hogan.

Announcement

Biden had initially planned to make his announcement regarding his running mate selection "around" August 1. The announcement date was later pushed back to the second week in August. On August 11, it was reported that Biden had selected his running mate and an announcement was imminent. Later that day,

was revealed as Biden's vice presidential running mate. Harris was the junior

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

, first elected in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. She additionally has experience as the

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). ...

, San Francisco District Attorney, and as a

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

. Harris was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, before suspending her campaign in December 2019, later endorsing Biden's campaign in March 2020. Harris was the third woman vice presidential running mate of a major party and the first

. Harris additionally is the first Democrat from the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

to appear on a presidential ticket;

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

was born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, a Western state, but was nominated as a representative of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Vetting process

Finalists

On August 13, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported the four finalists were

, Susan Rice,

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

, and

Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (; born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of R ...

. File:Kamala Harris official photo (cropped).jpg, File:Susan E. Rice, DPC Director (close-crop).jpg, File:Elizabeth Warren by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg, File:Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (cropped).jpg,

Shortlist

The Biden campaign was reported to have begun the vetting process of potential running mates in May 2020. The following officials were reported to have undergone vetting by the Biden campaign. However, following the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...

was criticized for her lack of prosecution of police misconduct during her tenure as

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

County Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

, including a case involving the officer who murdered Floyd. On June 18, she announced that she had removed herself from consideration and urged for Biden to select a woman of color. On June 12, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

reported that Keisha Lance Bottoms, Val Demings,

Michelle Lujan Grisham Michelle Lujan Grisham ( ; born October 24, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of governors of New Mexico, 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Lu ...

, Susan Rice, and

had advanced to further stages in the vetting process, with the possibility that some other vetted candidates had as well. On June 26,

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

reported that Bottoms, Demings, Harris, and Warren were at that point the leading candidates for the nomination. On July 29, just a week before Biden's initially planned announcement, '' The Hill'' reported that

Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician who has served as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Bass previously served in the United States House ...

, Harris, Rice, and Warren had emerged as the "top tier" of candidates. On August 2, CNN reported that

Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard Lieutenant colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel serving since 2017 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States ...

and

were also still under consideration. On August 10, ''

'' reported that Biden's running mate committee had finished interviewing the possible candidates and that an announcement was "imminent". In addition to the four finalists, the following individuals were reported to be on Biden's shortlist. File:SenTammyBaldwin (cropped).jpg, File:Mayor Karen Bass official portrait (crop 2).jpg, , alt=RepresentativeKaren Bassfrom California(2011–2023) File:Keisha Lance Bottoms (46601210695) (cropped).jpg, File:Val Demings, Official Portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Tammy Duckworth 115th official portrait (cropped).jpg, File:Maggie Hassan, official portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Amy Klobuchar 2019 (cropped).jpg, File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg , File:Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island.jpg,

Declined to be considered

The following individuals publicly confirmed that they had declined to be vetted by the Biden campaign. Catherine Cortez Masto official portrait.jpg, File:Shaheen Senate Portrait.jpg ,

Media speculation about other potential running mates

The following individuals received coverage as potential running mates from multiple news sources, but were not reported to have been asked to undergo vetting by the Biden campaign.

Federal executive branch officials

Julian Castro by Gage Skidmore (2) (cropped).jpg, Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg, Janet Napolitano 2018 (cropped).jpg, Hilda Solis 2013 (cropped).jpg, File:Condoleezza Rice July 2018.jpg, Sally Q. Yates (cropped).jpg,

Members of Congress

File:Cheri Bustos official photo (cropped).jpg, File:Veronica Escobar official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Marcia Fudge 116th Congress photo (cropped).jpg, File:Tulsi Gabbard (48609643943) (cropped).jpg, File:Sylvia Garcia, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Kirsten Gillibrand, official photo, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Tim Kaine 116th official portrait (cropped).jpg, File:Joe Kennedy III, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Ro Khanna, official portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Barbara Lee by Gage Skidmore.jpg, File:Katie Porter, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Ayanna Pressley Portrait (cropped).jpg, File:Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40).jpg, File:Bernie Sanders in March 2020.jpg, File:Kim Schrier, official portrait, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, File:Terri Sewell official photo (cropped).jpg, File:Kyrsten Sinema in 2020 (cropped2).jpg, File:Debbie Stabenow, official photo, 116th Congress (4x5 crop).jpg, File:Maxine Waters (48010684107) (cropped).jpg,

Governors

File:Andrew Cuomo 2019 (cropped).jpg, alt=, File:Laura Kelly official photo (cropped).jpg, alt=, File:Deval Patrick official photo (1).jpg, alt=,

Mayors

File:Muriel Bowser official photo (2).jpg, File:Pete Buttigieg 2020 (2).jpg, File:Andrew Gillum.jpg,

Other individuals

File:Stacey Abrams by Gage Skidmore.jpg, File:Michelle Obama 2013 official portrait (cropped 3x4 closein).jpg, File:Josh Shapiro 2021 (alt crop).jpg,

Opinion polling

Siena College Siena College is a Private college, private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York, United States. It was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937 and is named after the Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena. The college enrolls approxi ...

/''

'' poll released on June 26, 2020, found that over 80% of respondents said that race should not be a factor in Biden's selection. A ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

''/ Morning Consult poll released on July 15, 2020, found that 54% of respondents felt that Biden's VP pick will not affect their vote, 16% said it would have a major impact, and 20% said only a minor impact.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, 2020 2020 in women's history Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Indian-American history Post–civil rights era in African-American history Michael Bloomberg Steve Bullock (American politician) Pete Buttigieg Julian Castro Andrew Cuomo Tulsi Gabbard Kirsten Gillibrand Kamala Harris Tim Kaine Amy Klobuchar Michelle Obama Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren Gretchen Whitmer