PoliticoTammy Duckworth, a Thai-American, bursts into VP contention
- The Purple Heart recipient has captured the imagination of donors and the Biden team
- Biden is under pressure to choose an African American running mate
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Natasha Korecki on politico.com on July 12, 2020.
Tammy Duckworth is no longer an afterthought in the Democratic veepstakes.
The Illinois senator and Purple Heart recipient has landed squarely in the conversation after a high-profile clash with Tucker Carlson last week and her advocacy against politicisation of the military in the weeks prior.
The attention hasn't escaped Biden's vetting team. It has stepped up information-gathering on Duckworth recently, scrutinising her legislative record and talking to her colleagues, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
A contingent of Duckworth-for-VP backers, including high-dollar donors and a politically active veterans group, has intensified efforts on her behalf in the past two weeks, pushing her as the best choice for Biden’s running mate.
“I’ve been working my rear end off, trying to get Joe to look at her favourably,” Joe Cotchett, a long-time friend of Biden’s and prominent West Coast Biden bundler, told POLITICO. Cotchett said Duckworth’s no-nonsense response to Carlson has further elevated her prospects.