ATLANTA (AP) — Three women lawmakers from the South have made the first cut on the list of potential running mates for presumed Democratic Presidential nominee. They are Florida Congresswoman Val Deming, Stacy Abrams, who lost in a controversial election to become Georgia’s Black governor and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Demings, in an interview with CNN on Sunday, was asked if she wanted to be the vice president.
“I want to do whatever job I can to continue to push this country in the right direction and make sure that America lives up to its promise for future generations,” Demings said.
Before being elect to Congress, Demings was with the Orlando Police Department for 27 years, and she was the department’s first female Chief of Police.
Meanwhile, in the state Georgia Mottoms, the 50-year-old Atlanta mayor, is a top surrogate for Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Abrams is the 46-year-old voting rights activist who nearly became the first black female governor in American history. Now, the pair occupy the same political intersection: Biden’s list of potential running mates.
That potential has highlighted the different styles of the two lawyers-turned-politicians. Abrams embraces the possibility of the vice presidency and, already having acknowledged her own presidential aspirations, openly touts how she’d help Biden win and govern. Bottoms, while not sidestepping the talk, plays the more traditional role of loyal party lieutenant.
While the possibility of being up for the same job could stoke conflict, Abrams, Bottoms and their associates instead frame their national profiles as a boost for black women.
“I see them leading in very different ways because of the positions they hold, and I adore them both,” said state party chairwoman Nikema Williams. It’s “inspiring” to watch “two black women from the South be elevated.”
Beyond Abrams and Bottoms, Biden is believed to be considering other women of color as his running mate, including California Sen. Kamala Harris.
