Former Obama adviser David Axelrod said Kamala Harris met an “important test” for Joe Biden, given his age.
Moments after Biden announced Harris, a senator from California who was a fierce rival in the primary contest, would be his running mate, CNN published an op-ed by Axelrod in which he discussed internal campaign research that informed the former vice president’s decision.
“People familiar with research the campaign undertook to inform its decision told me voters viewed her as among the most qualified to be president on Day One — a key positive, given Biden’s status as potentially the oldest politician to ever serve as president,” Axelrod wrote.
The age and mental health of the candidates have increasingly come into play less than 100 days out from Election Day. Trump, 74, is the oldest president; Biden is 77 and would be the oldest candidate to win a first-term in the White House.
Harris is 55, while Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, is 61.
Among the other women leading Biden’s VP shortlist were Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is 71; former national security adviser Susan Rice, who is 55; and Rep. Karen Bass, who is 66.
Axelrod, who was chief strategist for President Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, argued in his op-ed that Biden picking Harris was not only historic but “also the most conventional.”
“In choosing Kamala Harris, Biden selected the candidate who had been the frontrunner among political handicappers and betting markets for months. The senator from California fulfills Biden’s pledge to name a woman and responds to the expectation that he would pick the first woman of color ever to serve on a national ticket,” Axelrod said.
“In the end,” he said, “Biden seriously considered others but returned to Harris as the ‘do no harm’ candidate, unlikely to thrill or outrage many. She may not seem the most comfortable fit as a governing partner, a quality Biden said he was seeking, but Harris was viewed as the safest pick to win in November.”
Axelrod also noted that Harris, who has served as a senator from California since 2017, already underwent intense media scrutiny during the Democratic primary contest, something which Rice and Bass did not go through.
“And while Biden may have questions about how she would operate as vice president, he also knows that it will be a moot point if he isn’t elected,” Axelrod said. “In making his choice, Biden signaled that he is focused like a laser on November, and he views Harris as the best bet to win.”
