• During Sunday night’s CNN Democratic presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden fully committed to picking a woman as his running mate.
  • When asked by the moderator Dana Bash, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont 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 vice-president picks.
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During Sunday night’s Democratic presidential debate, former Vice President Joe Biden committed to nominating a woman to become his running mate, while Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont 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 had previously indicated he would prefer a woman to be on the ticket, 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 the CNN moderator Dana Bash about picking a woman as his vice president. "For me it's not just nominating a woman. It is making sure that we have a progressive woman, and there are progressive women out there.

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

Because of their age, both candidates, who are in their 70s, have drawn heavy speculation over potential vice-president picks.

Democratic strategists and political scientists have noted there are other assets that could help their general-election prospects, such as a running mate's political ideology or home state.