华盛顿——乔·拜登对竞选伙伴的寻找进入了第二轮审查，因为潜在副总统候选人的名单越来越少，几名黑人女性处于激烈的竞争中。
了解这一过程的民主党人表示，在最初的面试后，拜登的搜索委员会将候选人的范围缩小到了6名。在仍有争议的群体中:Sens伊丽莎白·沃伦马萨诸塞州和卡马拉·哈里斯以及担任巴拉克·奥巴马总统国家安全顾问的苏珊·赖斯。
那些有知识的人拒绝说出其他竞争者的名字，并说这个过程仍然有些不稳定。其他候选人可能仍会被要求参加一些顶级竞争者正在进行的广泛的文件审查过程。那些熟悉拜登搜寻过程的人要求匿名，因为他们无权公开讨论这个过程。
该运动认为缩短名单的想法是早期的猜测。拜登的发言人安德鲁·贝茨说:“说话的人不知道，知道的人不说话。”。
拜登已经表示，他将选择一名女性作为自己的竞选伙伴，但他正面临着越来越多的民主党人要求将有色人种女性列入候选人名单的呼声——这既是因为黑人选民在拜登获得提名的道路上发挥了巨大的作用，也是因为乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)去世后，对种族主义和不平等的清算震惊了整个国家。这名明尼阿波利斯黑人男子在一名白人警察将他的膝盖压在他的脖子上几分钟后死亡，这一事件被拍成了视频。
前弗吉尼亚州州长、前民主党全国委员会主席特里·麦考利夫(Terry McAuliffe)表示，尽管拜登的选择很可能是“个人化学反应”，但如果一名黑人女性首次出现在主要政党的总统候选人名单上，将是“令人兴奋的”。
该运动的名单包括几名黑人女性，包括哈里斯和赖斯。顾问们还密切关注佛罗里达州众议员瓦尔·戴明斯和亚特兰大市长凯莎·兰斯·巴茨，他们都是黑人，以及新墨西哥州州长米歇尔·卢汉·格里沙姆，一个拉丁裔人。
今年春天早些时候，拜登的审查委员会与一大群女性进行了对话;那些继续进行的人被要求交出财务记录、过去的文章和其他文件。到目前为止，拜登已经和他的审查委员会考虑过的许多女性进行了各种公开和私下的交流，但是还没有任何正式的一对一的面谈来明确讨论候选人名单上的第二名。这几周都不会发生。
赖斯在担任副总统期间曾与拜登密切合作，现已成为一些前奥巴马政府官员的最爱，并且与前总统关系密切。她从未担任过民选职务，但拥有丰富的外交政策经验，包括担任美国驻联合国大使。自离开白宫并考虑竞选缅因州的美国参议院以来，她也一直直言不讳地批评特朗普政府。
赖斯长期以来一直是共和党的目标，包括她在2012年利比亚班加西美国人遭遇致命袭击后发表的声明。共和党人还指责她对特朗普的第一任国家安全顾问迈克尔·弗林进行间谍活动，尽管特朗普政府解密的记录显示，没有证据表明赖斯不当获取任何信息。
自结束自己的总统竞选以来，哈里斯和沃伦一直被视为第二大热门人选。
最近几个月，沃伦和拜登建立了令人惊讶的关系，并经常谈论这位马萨诸塞州参议员在其竞选活动中提出的进步政策理念。拜登已经采纳了她提议的破产法改革。现在，随着冠状病毒的流行和随之而来的经济放缓提升了政府的基本原则，一些民主党人将沃伦的政策证书视为一笔财富。
拜登和沃伦的搭档意味着两位候选人都是70多岁的白人民主党人。拜登77岁，沃伦70岁。
哈里斯是唯一赢得全州办公室的黑人竞争者，鉴于拜登强调希望有一个“准备好当总统”的伙伴，这是一个显著的经验她和拜登还在网上筹款活动中展示了一种舒适的相处方式。哈里斯是讨论刑事司法的专家，但一些黑人进步人士对她的检察官背景持怀疑态度。
明尼苏达州参议员艾米·克洛布查尔是一名竞争者，他的声望似乎确实下降了，几年前他是明尼阿波利斯所在县的检察官。在此期间，超过20人——大多数是少数民族——在与警察的冲突中死亡。
尽管了解拜登的审查过程的人并没有排除克洛布查尔，但鉴于最近发生的事件，与拜登竞选关系密切的民主党人普遍认为她不太可能被利用。
Biden's VP list narrows: Warren, Harris, Susan Rice, others
WASHINGTON -- Joe Biden’s search for a running mate is entering a second round of vetting for a dwindling list of potential vice presidential nominees, with several black women in strong contention.
Democrats with knowledge of the process said Biden’s search committee has narrowed the choices to as few as six serious contenders after initial interviews. Among the group still in contention: Sens.Elizabeth Warrenof Massachusetts andKamala Harrisof California, as well as Susan Rice, who served as President Barack Obama's national security adviser.
Those with knowledge declined to name other contenders and said the process remains somewhat fluid. Additional candidates may still be asked to submit to the extensive document review process now underway for some top contenders. Those familiar with Biden's search spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the process.
The campaign dismissed the idea of a shortened list as early speculation. “Those who talk don’t know and those who know don’t talk,” said Andrew Bates, a Biden spokesperson.
Biden, who has already said he will pick a woman as his running mate, is facing increased calls from Democrats to put a woman of color on the ticket — both because of the outsize role that black voters played in Biden's road to the nomination and because of the reckoning over racism and inequality roiling the nation following the death of George Floyd. The black Minneapolis man died after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck for several minutes, an episode that was captured on video.
Terry McAuliffe, the former Virginia governor and former Democratic National Committee chairman, said that while Biden's choice was likely to be “all about personal chemistry," it would be “exciting for the party” to have a black woman on a major party presidential ticket for the first time.
The campaign's list includes several black women, including Harris and Rice. Advisers have also looked closely at Florida Rep. Val Demings and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, both of whom are black, and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Latina.
Biden's vetting committee had conversations with a larger group of women earlier this spring; those continuing on in the process have been asked to turn over financial records, past writings and other documentation. Biden has had various public and private interactions with many of the women his vetting committee has considered thus far, but has not yet had any formal one-on-one interviews expressly to discuss the No. 2 spot on the ticket. Those aren’t expected for several weeks.
Rice, who worked closely with Biden during his time as vice president, has emerged as a favorite among some former Obama administration officials and is personally close to the former president. She has never held elected office but has extensive foreign policy experience, including as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She's also been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration since leaving the White House and considered running for U.S. Senate in Maine.
Rice has long been a target of Republicans, including for statements she made after the deadly 2012 attacks on Americans in Benghazi, Libya. Republicans have also accused her of spying on Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, though records declassified by the Trump administration show no evidence of Rice improperly accessing any information.
Harris and Warren have been seen as top contenders for the No. 2 spot since ending their own presidential campaigns.
Warren and Biden have forged a surprising bond in recent months and talk regularly about the progressive policy ideas the Massachusetts senator put at the forefront of her campaign. Biden already has adopted her proposed bankruptcy law overhaul. And now, with the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic slowdown elevating the nuts-and-bolts of governing, some Democrats see Warren's policy credentials as an asset to the ticket.
A Biden-Warren pairing would mean both Democrats on the ticket are white and in their 70s. Biden is 77, and Warren is 70.
Harris is the lone black contender who has won statewide office, notable experience given Biden’s emphasis on wanting a partner “ready to be president.” She and Biden have also demonstrated a comfortable manner with each other in online fundraisers. Harris is an expert voice in discussions of criminal justice, but some black progressives view her background as a prosecutor skeptically.
One contender whose standing does appear to have fallen is Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who was a prosecutor years ago in the county that includes Minneapolis. During that period, more than two dozen people — mostly minorities — died during encounters with police.
While the people with knowledge of Biden's vetting process did not rule Klobuchar out, she is widely viewed among Democrats with close ties to the Biden campaign as less likely to be tapped given recent events.
