By Trevor Hunnicutt
(Reuters) – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar effectively pulled herself out of contention to be Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate on Thursday, saying she felt that the historic moment required picking a woman of color.
“This is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket, and there are so many incredible qualified women,” she said in an interview on MSNBC. “If you want to heal this nation right now – my party, yes, but our nation – this is sure a hell of a way to do it.”
Klobuchar said she had discussed the matter with Biden last night. A spokesman for the Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biden, who will take on Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election, is under pressure to pick a black woman as his understudy amid racial tensions following instances of police brutality, including the videotaped death last month of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
Biden has already promised to pick a woman for the role, and several black candidates are on his short list, including Senator Kamala Harris and Representative Val Demings.
Some African-American leaders and activists have said that a black woman on the ticket would help demonstrate to black voters, a crucial component of the Democratic base, that Biden is committed to addressing issues such as criminal justice reform and police misconduct.
Klobuchar’s record on police misconduct and other prosecutions came under scrutiny following her role as the top prosecutor for the Minnesota county that includes Minneapolis, where Floyd died.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
