(dramatic orchestral music)
- [Narrator] Over the years, vice presidential candidates
have, at times, stolen the spotlight.
- Hey, can I call you Joe?
- [Man On Left] Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
- With all due respect, that's a bunch of malarkey.
- [Narrator] Historically, though,
the selection of a running mate rarely proves decisive.
- Who am I? (crowd chuckles)
Why am I here? (crowd laughing)
- [Narrator] This time, it's different.
Divisions in the Democratic party, new battleground states,
and Joe Biden's age make the presumptive nominee's pick
one of the most important in modern times.
- He has started much earlier to make his choice
than people normally do.
He has said something nobody has ever said before,
which is--
- I commit that I will, in fact,
pick a woman to be vice president.
- [Gerald] And he's made a very public show
of picking a group of people
who will help him make the choice.
- [Narrator] So who is the former Vice President
going to pick to fill the role?
There's an emerging shortlist of candidates,
including Senators Kamala Harris of California,
Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota,
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts,
and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.
Then there's Governor Gretchen Witmer of Michigan
and former Georgia legislator Stacey Abrams.
How Biden will pick, however, remains unclear,
but history might provide some help.
- My name is Geraldine Ferraro.
- I believe you're looking
at the next Vice President of the United States.
(crowd cheering)
- [Narrator] Traditionally, a nominee selects a running mate
for one of three reasons.
The first, balance, basically using the pick
to make up for a perceived weakness or bring in more voters.
- So an interesting case study in balance
was 1980 when Ronald Reagan was the Republican nominee,
and he tried to bring some balance
by bringing in somebody who had more experience than he did
at the federal, national, Washington level
because, at the beginning of the convention in 1980,
there was a serious movement afoot
to put Gerald Ford, a former president, on the ticket
as Ronald Reagan's vice presidential running mate.
- I'm being told for sure,
apparently the deal fell through.
- They moved on to the other kind of balance,
which was ideological balance.
Ronald Reagan, a real conservative,
needed to assure moderates in the Republican party
that he hadn't gone too far right,
so his ultimate choice was George H.W. Bush,
who was the personification of the moderate wing
of the Republican party.
- That the choice is Bush.
They're all yelling Bush all around me.
- [Narrator] In 2008, Republican nominee John McCain
considered an unprecedented kind of balance,
picking Democrat Joe Lieberman.
- There was an important statement wrapped up
in this idea of wanting to pick Joe Lieberman,
and that statement was,
I'm not going to govern as a traditional partisan president.
I'm going to be a president for all the people.
- [Narrator] Of course, that idea was dropped.
- I will be honored to accept your nomination
for Vice President of the United States.
- [Narrator] Biden has promised gender balance,
but his pick could bring balance of another kind.
- Elizabeth Warren is the one person
on Joe Biden's shortlist
who would provide ideological balance.
She would reassure the Bernie Sanders wing of the party
that their issues and their concerns and their approach
would be reflected in a Biden administration.
The other kind of balance is basically racial balance.
There's a lot of pressure on him
to pick somebody, a candidate of color
who can basically represent that part of the party
that were so instrumental in his winning the nomination,
and Kamala Harris from California,
obviously, does that as well for Joe Biden.
- [Narrator] Another reason
presidential candidates pick VPs?
Geography.
- You can always see one or two states
that could tip the balance,
and if you can pick a running mate who guarantees you
or virtually guarantees you
you'll win one of those key states,
well, that's a pretty powerful incentive.
- I accept the nomination of the Democratic party.
- When John Kennedy was running in 1960,
he picks Lyndon Johnson of Texas to be his running mate.
Texas was an important state
for Democratic presidential aspirations in those days.
- And I am grateful, finally,
that I can rely in the coming months
on a distinguished running mate
who brings unity and strength
to our platform and our ticket, Lyndon Johnson.
- [Narrator] Kennedy and Johnson went on to win Texas.
Since the start of the modern two-party era in 1892,
the winner has carried the running mate's home state
87% of the time.
That means just six winning tickets
in the last 192 years were able to win
without carrying the vice presidential nominee's home state.
- If you were picking one region of the country
that's going to be essential for Joe Biden to win
to win the presidency,
it would probably be the Industrial Upper Midwest,
and so therefore Gretchen Witmer, the Governor of Michigan,
becomes a very intriguing figure here.
Amy Klobuchar has a similar appeal
across the Upper Midwest because she's from Minnesota.
She also seems to have an ability
to speak to voters in places like Michigan
and Wisconsin as well. - Thank you!
- [Narrator] The final reason
candidates pick a running mate?
To reassure voters that someone experienced
will be able to step in as president at a moment's notice.
In the event of the president's death,
taking over is one of the vice president's only stated jobs,
and it's something voters think about.
- Now I think it's the whole ball game for Joe Biden,
because, let's face it, he's going to be 77 on Election Day.
He will be 78 when he's sworn in if he wins the election.
In other words, he would be as old
coming into the presidency
as Ronald Reagan was when he exited the presidency.
- [Narrator] Given Biden's age,
it's also possible he may decide
to only serve a single term if elected.
That could make his pick the front runner
for the Democratic nomination next time around.
So who's ready now?
- I think the senators who are on the Biden shortlist
become intriguing because they presumably know how
the government works in Washington,
know how to work the levers of power
versus a governor who has executive experience
but not Washington experience.
- [Narrator] A number of politicians on Biden's shortlist
have said they would accept the nomination if asked.
Whoever Biden selects, however,
faces another unique challenge.
Former Senate Staffer Tara Reade
accused Biden of sexual assault.
Biden has denied the claim,
but the woman he picks as his running mate
will likely also battle questions about the allegation.
Some of his top choices already have.
- [Amy] And I agree with Vice President Biden about this,
that all women in these cases have the right to be heard
and have their claims thoroughly reviewed.
- I know Joe Biden, and I think that he is telling the truth
and that this did not happen.
- [Kamala] You know, the Joe Biden I know
is somebody who really has fought for women
and empowerment of women
and for women's equality and rights.
- [Narrator] With his advisory panel now in place,
Biden said his selection could come as early as July.
(dramatic piano tones)