Joe Biden commits to picking a woman as vice president during CNN debate while Bernie Sanders says he would 'in all likelihood'

• Former Vice President Joe Biden fully committed to picking a woman as his VP during Sunday night's CNN debate.

• When asked by moderator Dana Bash, Sen. Bernie Sanders was less committal, saying he would pick a woman "in all likelihood."

• Both candidates are in their 70s and have drawn heavy speculation over potential VP picks.
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During Sunday night's debate, former Vice President Joe Biden committed to noninating a woman to become his VP while Sen. Bernie Sanders stopped short of a full commitment.

After saying he would appoint a black woman to the US Supreme Court, Biden said he would also pick a female running mate.

"Secondly, if I'm elected president, my cabinet, my administration will look like the country, and I commit that I will, in fact, pick a woman to be vice president," Biden said. "There are a number of women who are qualified to be president tomorrow. I will pick a woman to be my vice president." 

Biden has previously indicated he would prefer a woman to be on the ticket during remarks on the campaign trail, telling a New Hampshire voter he could think of "seven women off the top of my head" who could be his running mate. 

"In all likelihood I will," Sanders said when pressed by CNN moderator Dana Bash about picking a woman as his vice president. "For me it's not just [about] nominating a woman. It is making sure that we have a progressive woman, and there are progressivce women out there. 

"So it's my very strong tendancy to move in that direction." 

Joe Biden commits to choosing a woman as his running mate at CNN's #DemDebate. Bernie Sanders says "in all likelihood" he will too. https://t.co/BMja4ohwcv pic.twitter.com/DJn5ZceWEm

— CNN (@CNN) March 16, 2020

Because of their age, both candidates have drawn heavy speculation over potential VP picks.

Democratic strategists and politial scientists have noted that there are other assets that could hep their general election prospects, such as political ideology and which state the VP would be from.

 

SEE ALSO: Who Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders might be considering for VP picks

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