The race to be the Democrat nominee might go all the way to the party’s convention in July after an inconclusive Super Tuesday.
Bernie Sanders won in his home state of Vermont as well as Colorado, and Utah and most important of all, California.
But Joe Biden has come back from the brink of the defeat by winning nine states, including Texas, after receiving last minute endorsements by moderates Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke.
If @JoeBiden goes on to win the Democratic nomination, how on earth, is he not OBLIGATED to name an African-American as his VP running mate after black voters singlehandedly resurrected his Presidential hopes?
— Fernand R. Amandi (@AmandiOnAir) March 4, 2020
Billionaire tycoon and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg - who is 78 - also failed to make an impression on Super Tuesday, despite spending tens of millions of dollars on TV adverts.
Bloomberg quit the race on Wednesday, 4 March, and could be followed by Elizabeth Warren who did even worse than predicted, failing to win a single state and coming third on her own home turf, Massachusetts.
Wow! If Elizabeth Warren wasn’t in the race, Bernie Sanders would have EASILY won Massachusetts, Minnesota and Texas, not to mention various other states. Our modern day Pocahontas won’t go down in history as a winner, but she may very well go down as the all time great SPOILER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2020
She is now almost certain to throw in the towel and will come under pressure to give her backing to Sanders who, like her, is on the left of the Democratic Party.
Asked if he will announce a running mate soon given his recent heart attack, Bernie Sanders says “that person will not be an old white guy,” adding, "our cabinet and our administration will very intentionally look like America.” #CNNTownHall https://t.co/fdekBnmsHz pic.twitter.com/5bO1pmxFJF
— CNN (@CNN) February 25, 2020
But there is no love lost between the pair and in January supporters of Sanders saturated social media with snake emojis and #WarrenIsASnake hashtags after the 70-year-old claimed Sanders had once said a woman would never be president, which he has denied.
Biden just said he’s open to a Republican running mate.
— Lee Camp [Redacted] (@LeeCamp) March 3, 2020
Can you get any better proof that the two corporate parties are one & the same? That’s why the dem establishment are so scared of Bernie Sanders. He’s not in their Wall Street party.
On Tuesday night, Donald Trump said: "The biggest loser tonight, by far, is Mini Mike Bloomberg. His 'political' consultants took him for a ride. $700 million washed down the drain, and he got nothing for it but the nickname Mini Mike, and the complete destruction of his reputation."
So the contest now seems to be a straight fight between Sanders, who is also 78, and Biden, who is 77.
Sanders famously suffered a heart attack last year and while Biden's health has never been questioned, he has been mercilessly mocked by President Trump as "Creepy Joe" or "Sleepy Joe" and the White House gives the impression they would relish their chances against either of the septuagenarians.
#BREAKING Bernie Sanders chooses his Vice Presidenté running mate pic.twitter.com/ElJ3zjIwT4
— Denlesks (@Denlesks) February 24, 2020
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination, they need to pick a running mate who can pick up votes from parts of the country where Sanders or Biden might struggle.
In 2016 Hillary Clinton plumped for Tim Kaine, a senator and former Governor from Virginia, who was 58 at the time.
if Joe Biden is the nominee I hope he picks Tim Kaine as his running mate. how cool would that be!?
— Tim Newman (@timheidecker) March 4, 2020
Kaine, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was another voice of the US establishment and he brought nothing to the Clinton ticket in 2016.
So if Biden or Sanders wins the nomination who are they likely to choose as their running mate?
I just want to put this out into the Twitterverse now before it’s too late:
— Barbara 👩🏫 #RightMatters #ImpeachedForLife (@Barbann76) February 24, 2020
Bernie Sanders will never be my primary pick, but if he becomes the nominee, I will #VoteBlueNoMatterWho unless...
...he picks Tulsi Gabbard as his running mate. If that happens, I vote third party. pic.twitter.com/V2IgSXldG1
The feminist lobby within the Democratic Party is strong and the failures of Warren, Klobuchar and Tulsi Gabbard to make any impact has hurt them and the choice of a woman would be a sop.
A female vice-presidential candidate could also bring in women voters, although Hillary Clinton wildly over-estimated the importance of her gender to female voters in 2016.
Watch: Joe Biden agrees with Sarah Palin on gay marriage. #PeteToBiden pic.twitter.com/8teqQWbOEV
— Negan (@mynameisNegan) March 2, 2020
In 2008 the Republican nominee, John McCain, chose Sarah Palin - the then Governor of Alaska - as his running mate. Although she appealed to the Republican base, she was prone to putting her foot in it and was widely ridiculed by Democrats.
A candidate needs 1,991 delegates to win the nomination - Biden currently has 402 and Sanders 314, although that does not include California’s 415.
If Biden wins the nomination he may well choose Amy Klobuchar as his running mate.
slogan concept:
— soncharm (@soncharm) March 4, 2020
BIDEN/[FEMALE RUNNING-MATE] 2020
“He’s not Trump, and she’s female!”
should work
Klobuchar, 59, is a moderate, from Minnesota, and might appeal to voters in the Midwest.
Her father, a retired sports journalist, is of Slovenian descent but Klobuchar is American through and through. Her weakness is foreign policy. Last month she stumbled during a TV interview when she was unable to name the current Mexican President - Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
An alternative would be Kamala Harris, 55, a California Senator who dropped out of the race in January. She would be a popular choice with the Democrat base vote, especially African-Americans.
Humilliating and expensive (for anyone else) Mike Bloomberg drops out of US Presidential race - having only spent half a billion dollars of his 61 billion dollar fortune! The lesson?Money can’t buy you love!
— Jon Snow (@jonsnowC4) March 4, 2020
Some Democrats hope Biden would pull an even bigger rabbit out of his hat - in the form of 56-year-old Michelle Obama herself.
But an Obama on the ticket could be catnip to Trump and the Republicans.
What about Sanders’ running mate?
I did in NC, but Joe needs to choose the right running mate very soon!!! A smart, savvy, experienced female!!! https://t.co/6jrDwt80rP
— B. Tanner Jr, PhD, USMC Veteran (@drbtanner) March 3, 2020
Elizabeth Warren is too old - together their ticket would have a combined age of 148 - but Tulsi Gabbard could be an option, although she does not bring with her an obvious demographic which is different from that which supports Sanders.
Sanders is already strong with the Latino vote, so he probably does not need a Spanish-speaking running mate.
An obvious choice and one who would certainly excite the Democratic base would be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the young firebrand who was elected to Congress in 2018 and has consistently baited Trump and his allies.
The women of this country have the right to control their own bodies, not politicians.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 3, 2020
Instead of defunding Planned Parenthood, we should expand it so that every woman in this country gets the health care she needs.
But Ocasio-Cortez comes from liberal New York and the East Coast intelligentsia are already enthralled with Sanders. Trump would have a field day up against a radical Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez ticket in the South and the Midwest.
An alternative might be Rashida Tlaib, an Arab-American congresswoman from Michigan who was also elected in 2018. Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez are among a four-strong group of women in Congress dubbed The Squad.
As Bernie Sanders (78) and Joe Biden (77) become the frontrunners to take on Donald Trump (73), experts monitoring the coronavirus outbreak say now is the best possible time for someone with a decent immune system to secure the vice presidency.
— Have I Got News For You (@haveigotnews) March 4, 2020
Another possible choice might be Cory Booker, 50, an African-American senator from New Jersey, who could help him to improve his showing with black voters.
But Sanders sees himself as an iconoclast and he may decide to choose a non-politician as a running mate.
What he really needs is a household name and there do not come many bigger than Oprah Winfrey, the former talkshow host and actress who rejected running for the White House back when it was suggested back in 2018.
A Sanders-Winfrey ticket could just give Trump a run for his money in November.