Selection of Sen. Harris as running mate, will likely boost enthusiasm for Biden among Black voters

Joe Biden’s pick of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-California) as his vice presidential running mate will likely boost enthusiasm for him among Black voters, said Alvin Tillery, associate professor of political science at Northwestern University.

Tillery’s research and teaching interests are in the fields of American politics and political theory. His research in American politics focuses on American political development, racial and ethnic politics and media and politics. He can be reached at alvin.tillery@northwestern.edu.

Quote from Professor Tillery
“Joe Biden’s decision to select Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) as his running mate means that for the first time in American history a Black woman will be on the presidential ticket of one of the two major parties. Senator Harris has also proved in recent weeks that she is an ardent campaigner and fundraiser for Biden.  

“Perhaps the most important dimension of this selection is that it shows that Vice President Biden is not nurturing any petty grudges from the primary debates and that he is completely comfortable serving as bridge to the next generation of diverse leaders. This is a winning pick for the Biden campaign in every way imaginable.”

In addition, political scientist Jaime Dominguez and psychology professor emeritus Alice Eagly are also available to comment. 

Dominguez is an assistant professor of instruction in the department of political science. His teaching and research focus on race and ethnicity, immigration, urban politics, Latino politics and Chicago politics. He can be reached at j-dominguez@northwestern.edu.

Eagly has long conducted research in the areas of psychology of gender, especially sex differences in similarities in leadership, prosocial behavior, aggression, partner preferences, and sociopolitical attitudes. Her most recent study, “Gender Stereotypes Have Changed: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of U.S. Public Opinion Polls From 1946 to 2018” was published in the journal American Psychologist in 2019.She can be reached at eagly@northwestern.edu.

Earlier this summer, a poll conducted by Northwestern’s Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy (CSDD), for which Tillery is the director, found that African-Americans said they will be more enthusiastic about voting for Joe Biden if he selects an African-American woman as his running mate for vice president.

The survey, conducted by Cloud Research/Prime Panels on behalf of the CSDD, showed that Harris and former Georgia legislator Stacey Abrams were seen as favorites for the nomination.