A column published Thursday by National Review suggested U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) as a long-shot candidate to be the 2020 Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States.
Senior National Review writer Dan McLaughlin referred to Sewell as a potential “proverbial ‘dark horse’ candidate nobody saw coming.”
“Don’t be surprised if she ends up on the ticket,” he wrote. “There are at least ten reasons why she might be an attractive choice for Biden, and possibly even a shrewd one.”
Perhaps the top reason putting Sewell is supposed contention to be former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 running mate, according to McLaughlin, is simple “identity politics.”
“Crucially, in a party that remains obsessed with identity politics, Sewell is African American,” he said.
Biden has pledged to pick a woman as his running mate and is facing added pressure to choose a woman of color. Top contenders include U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and former State Rep. Stacey Abrams (D-GA).
Throughout his column, McLaughlin makes the case why Sewell would make more sense for the Democratic ticket than either Harris or Abrams.
He concluded, “Sewell is not a choice that would excite online progressives or thrill the Beltway cognoscenti, and because she has never run a statewide race before, it is possible that careful vetting would turn up more vulnerabilities than she appears to have now. But as a low-risk pick who fits what Biden is looking to sell, she has a surprisingly strong case.”
You can read the full column here.
Sewell was first elected in 2010, becoming the first black woman to ever serve in Alabama’s congressional delegation.
She currently serves as vice-chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, where she sits on three subcommittees: the Subcommittee on Health; the Subcommittee on Trade; and the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support. Sewell also serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, on which she is serving as the chair of the Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support.
Additionally, the Alabama congresswoman currently serves as a chief deputy majority whip and sits on the Steering and Policy Committee, which sets the policy direction of the Democratic Caucus.
Sewell is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, where she is co-chair of the Voting Rights Task Force. She is a vice-chair of the New Democrat Coalition, co-chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, vice-chair of the Congressional HBCU Caucus and co-chair of the Rural Caucus.
Prior to her election to Congress, the Selma native was the first ever black woman partner in the prestigious Birmingham law office of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. A proud product of Alabama’s Black Belt, Sewell was the first black valedictorian of Selma High School. She is an honors graduate of both Princeton University and Oxford University and received her law degree from Harvard Law School.
Sewell was named a Yellowhammer Woman of Impact in 2018.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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