Despite calls for Joe Biden to pick a woman of color as his running mate, most of the American public doesn’t agree or are unsure, and only 51% of black people said the Democrat should select an African American, according to a new 2020 survey.
In the poll taken right after Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar withdrew from consideration and called on Biden to pick a woman of color, the latest Economist/YouGov survey found that only 32% support picking a black vice president, 21% don’t, and 47% were “not sure.”
And, said the poll, just 51% of black people said “Yes” to the question, “Do you think Joe Biden should select an African-American person to be the Democratic Party nominee for vice president?”
Even among partisans, only 50% of “liberals” said yes to picking a black vice presidential nominee.
In a question about picking a woman, people are split as 39% agreed, 20% said “No,” and 41% were not sure.
The survey tested approval ratings of several of the women being considered by Biden for his running mate, and it found that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a white person, had the highest rating among blacks. Some 58% had a “very” or “somewhat” favorable opinion of her.
On her heels was California Sen. Kamala Harris, whose parents are from India and Jamaica and who identifies as black. She had a 57% approval rating among African Americans.
Among all polled, Warren’s approval rating edges Harris’s, 37% to 35%.
