‘Of Course I Want It’: Stacey Abrams Puts Herself Forward for Vice Presidency
Andrew Buncombe, Independent, February 17, 2020
Stacey Abrams, who narrowly failed in her bid to become the governor of Georgia, has said she would “absolutely’ serve as running mate to any of the Democratic candidates.
In comments intended to up any confusion as whether she was open to being on the ticket, Ms Abrams said she was “getting the question from a lot of folks”.
“The answer is ‘Of course I’d be honoured to run for vice president with the nominee’,” she told ABC News.
“But it seems really obnoxious to say that out loud, because nobody has asked.”
There has been intense speculation as who might be might be a running mate for any of the candidates.
In particular, given how a once diverse filed has been whittled into an all white affair, there has been talk of the value of asking a person of colour to run as vice president.
Many in the Democratic establishment also believe it important that a woman make up one of the slots.
Ms Abrams was talked about as being a person who not only brought considerable political talent and experience to the race, but also helped cement a more diverse team to take on Donald Trump and Mike Pence.
Last year, it was reported Joe Biden had hoped to announce his candidacy, with Ms Abrams as his agreed running mate. “I think you don’t run for second place,” she said at the time.
On Monday, Ms Abrams, 46, who is is the award-winning author of several romantic novels, made clear she wanted to be considered for the ticket.
“Why should we not want someone to have the power to fix the problems and the brokenness that we have,” she said. “I want to do good, and there is no stronger platform than president of the United States. And that’s a position I want to one day hold.”
She added: “It would be doing a disservice to every woman of colour, every woman of ambition, every child who wants to think beyond their known space for me to say no or to pretend, ‘Oh, no, I don’t want it’.
“Of course I want it. Of course I want to serve America. Of course I want to be a patriot and do this work.”
In a move that may have tailored to try and boost her chances of being selected by the eventual candidate, she declined to endorse any of those still in the race. “My best service is to be in that neutral space where it’s not about who the nominee is – it’s about making sure no matter who the nominee is, any person who wants to go and vote, can vote. That’s what we’re doing through Fair Fight 2020.”
Fair Fight 2020 is a multi-million dollar initiative aimed at building voter protection operations in 20 battleground states.
Ms Abrams threw her weight being the project after losing the Georgia governor’s race to 50 – 49 to Brian Kemp. Had she won, she would have been the nation’s first African American woman to serve as governor.
