Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in an MSNBC interview late Thursday that she is no longer interested in being Joe Biden’s running mate in this fall’s presidential election.
Klobuchar was considered among the favorites to be pegged as Biden’s running mate. On Thursday, she took her name out of the running.
Klobuchar cited her desire to see a woman of color as part of the reason she is taking herself out of the running. Biden, who previously said he would likely choose a woman as his running mate, has received pressure to choose a minority to be his running mate in the weeks since the death of George Floyd.
With Klobuchar’s past as a prosecutor, and given Floyd was killed by officers in Klobuchar’s home state, many pundits believed her viability as a running mate dropped.
“After what I have seen in my state, what I have seen across the country, this is a historic moment,” Klobuchar said. “America must seize on this moment and I truly believe, as I told the vice president last night, I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket."
According to an Associated Press report last week, Sen. Kamala Harris and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice were among those being vetted.
Klobuchar joined Biden in a crowded Democratic field vying for the party’s presidential nomination. Klobuchar briefly gained momentum following a solid performance in New Hampshire, but following lackluster results in Nevada and South Carolina, Klobuchar exited the race and endorsed Biden the night before Super Tuesday.