Shutterstock
Much ink has been spilled over Joe Biden’s pick for running mate. The former vice president is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. That “presumptive” bit will be dropped after the Democratic convention, when the delegates are expected to cast their votes for Biden. After the primary earlier this year, Biden won the majority of the delegates he needed to secure the nomination.
Of course, that nomination is all-important for a serious candidate. The two major political parties extend serious financial backing to the candidate they nominate for president. Having the free press of the convention, the political backing of the members of that party in Congress, and the legitimacy that nomination brings is pivotal. While it’s not required, of course, it would be bizarre for a candidate to win outside of this structure.
The Democratic Convention starts Monday. By then, Biden will need to have his running mate picked out. Some pundits have suggested that his choice of running mate won’t matter. Others have noted that the candidate Biden picks could only serve to help him, not hurt. Should Biden pick, for instance, a progressive, black, female candidate, his ticket could become more palatable to some progressives who disdain establishment candidates.
However, on the other side of this coin, part of Biden’s strength against Trump so far has been the president’s inability to stick any meaningful insults on Biden. Donald Trump wants to stick Biden with the responsibility of enabling a fictional “radical left”. While some progressive candidates might be more vulnerable to such attacks, the moderate Biden is immune to such accusations.
The convention will be a bit different this year. Rather than being a lavish in-person affair, it will occur digitally. This, of course, is due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has driven most people into their homes and caused searches for the “best rated at home treadmills” to skyrocket. Meanwhile, many are out of work and sore over their treatment at the hands of the authorities.
This situation has caused significant issues for Donald Trump. His approval rating has sank immensely since the start of the pandemic. Now, many top Republican strategists are fearing that the November election could be a blowout for them. Some have even worried that they could lose the White House and Senate in one election, swinging the power of two of the branches of government firmly in the favor of the Democrats.
