Biden says vice president choices include 4 Black women

WASHINGTON

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has announced his vice presidential short list includes four Black women as he inches closer to making a final pick ahead of November's presidential polls.

Speaking during an MSNBC interview Monday Biden said he was unready to commit to one name just yet, but said the roughly six-week vetting process for his potential running mates is "just being finished," and his campaign is completing its internal analysis of the choices.

"I am not committed to naming any but the people I've named, and among them there are four Black women,” he said. "It is important that my administration, I promise you, will look like America."

"From vice president to Supreme Court to Cabinet positions to every major position in the White House, it's critically important that be the case," he added.

Biden's choice for running mate has extra weight this year as he will be the oldest president-elect in US history at nearly 78 if he defeats President Donald Trump on Nov. 3. And Biden has repeatedly said he sees himself as a transitional candidate, heavily hinting that he would only serve one term in office.

He has previously said he would limit his search to a female candidate.

Among the names that have been floated are Senator Kamala Harris, who clashed fiercely with Biden when she vied against him for the Democratic nomination, as well as Susan Rice, who served alongside the former vice president as Barack Obama's longest-serving national security advisor.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has also been mentioned as she regularly speaks for Biden on matters of race and was among the first to lend her endorsement to him.

Biden is currently posting double-digit leads over Trump with an ABC News/Wash Post poll released Sunday showing Trump trailing the former vice president by 10 points. Two polls released last Wednesday, one by NBC News/Wall St. Journal and the other by CNBC/Change Research having similar findings.

A Quinnipiac University poll had Biden up by 15 points.