Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s selection of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice presidential pick Tuesday means Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who also was closely considered for the spot, missed out.
After months of speculation, Biden, a former vice president himself, announced Harris as his running mate. She, like Duckworth, is a woman of color and freshman senator in Congress.
“I look forward to working as hard as I can to elect Joe Biden & Kamala Harris. Our nation needs a President — and our troops deserve a commander in chief — who is competent, effective and has the empathy needed to lead this great, diverse country through these difficult times,” Duckworth tweeted in a statement.
“I’ve never been more confident than I am today that Joe Biden is that leader. I’m all in for the Biden-Harris ticket and hope you will join me in helping ensure that he and Kamala are able to defeat Donald Trump and restore the soul of America this November.”
Duckworth personally interviewed with Biden during the final days of the selection process, according to a source familiar with the vetting process who was not authorized to speak publicly. Biden also called Duckworth on Tuesday afternoon to inform her that he had selected Harris before he made the news public, the source said. Duckworth was not available for an interview Tuesday.
Earlier this year, Biden committed to selecting a woman as his VP, and Duckworth found herself in the midst of a historically diverse field of women under consideration. That included California U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Florida U.S. Rep. Val Demings, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Harris, former national security adviser Susan Rice, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, among others.
Duckworth stood out in the group as a former Army helicopter pilot who lost both of her legs during combat in Iraq with a unique ability to condemn President Donald Trump’s use of the military to quell protests at home and his foreign policy decisions abroad.
“I am coming from a place where I have the ability to push back on him in a way that someone who has not served can’t,” Duckworth said of Trump during a June interview with the Tribune about the possibility of becoming Biden’s running mate.
David Axelrod, who was a top political adviser to President Barack Obama, said though Duckworth wasn’t picked, “she was elevated by the process.”
“It was a measure of her remarkable story and courage that Tammy Duckworth rose to the upper ranks of potential vice presidential picks,” said Axelrod, the founding director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.
During the selection process, Duckworth noted that her powerful personal story of surviving a near-death experience in Iraq after the Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade serves as a political strength. As pundits discussed the odds of each vice presidential contender, they often stressed that Duckworth’s military history would make it difficult for Trump to attack her.
“Who I am, my background and my service gets me through the door” with individuals, many of them more conservative, who might not otherwise listen to a junior senator from deep blue Illinois,” Duckworth said earlier this year before stressing her appeal to moderate voters.
“I think to truly win this next election, you need to be able to win the heart of the country,” she said. “And that means you have to be able to talk to folks in Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan and all those places.”
The first-term senator from Hoffman Estates, however, was not viewed as well-versed on issues of systemic racism and policing that emerged during the selection process after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Still, her stature as a top contender to become Biden’s running mate elevated her profile nationally. Duckworth was a near-daily fixture on cable TV networks, although she had not made any recent appearances as Biden neared the end of his search.
“I am Team Biden,” Duckworth said when asked about the VP slot in a July 30 interview with WBEZ, one of her final interviews before Biden narrowed his running mate field. “It really doesn’t matter what position I play.”
Now, Duckworth will assume a role as a key campaign surrogate for Biden, who will enter a new phase of his challenge to Trump when the Democratic National Convention begins Monday.
The largely virtual event will feature a pared-down schedule of the usually hourslong four nights of speeches. Duckworth, however, is poised to give a prime-time speech during the final night of the convention next Thursday, demonstrating the high level of appreciation she has commanded from Biden and his team during the vice presidential vetting process.
The fact that Duckworth emerged as one of the final contenders for the running mate spot also will lead to inevitable speculation about a possible Cabinet or senior-level position within the Biden administration should he win — particularly given her military experience. Duckworth previously was an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the Obama administration prior to winning her congressional seat.
Such decisions on senior administration positions usually are not made until after the November election, though some Democrats have urged Biden to signal some of his top Cabinet selections ahead of the election to demonstrate they type of well-qualified team he would bring to Washington.
The national attention Duckworth received as a potential running mate also could help her in her current job, elevating her standing in the U.S. Senate, a chamber where the system of seniority traditionally dictates power.
“I am sure she will have options, including to serve in the Cabinet if that’s the direction she chooses to go,” Axelrod said. “Her stock is higher today, and she is better known, than when this process started.”
Twitter @BillRuthhart
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