Presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign is reportedly under mounting pressure to name New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as his vice presidential pick. The Washington Examiner reports:
Some of Joe Biden’s top fundraisers said they are feeling pressure from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s team to include him on the 2020 ticket following his rise in the national profile during the coronavirus pandemic.
One former senior staffer for the New York governor told the New York Post on Saturday that Cuomo was “definitely” angling for a national slot. “If given the opportunity, there is no question in my mind he would want to go for that,” the former staffer said. “This is the Cuomo playbook. Keep out there, publicly deny, work behind the scenes.”
A New York Democratic operative said some people in Biden’s orbit had said they were feeling the heat from Cuomo’s team. “Biden bundlers have told me that they are feeling pressure from Cuomo’s orbit to, at the very least, have the vice president bring him up in complimentary ways regarding his handling of the crisis,” said the source who keeps in touch with some of Biden’s top donors.
The source added that the Cuomo people were trying to “generate a positive whisper campaign” to nab the governor a potential slot on Biden’s 2020 ticket.
If the Biden campaign does, in fact, decide to follow through with the requests and announce Cuomo as the Vice Presidential pick then it could dramatically alter the tone and direction of the former Vice President’s campaign.
But with President Trump surging in the polls and Biden continuing to stumble it may likely be too little, too late for the Democrats.