Val Demings: ‘I would be honored to serve alongside Joe Biden’ as vice president

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ORLANDO, Fla. — U.S. Rep. Val Demings of Orlando said Wednesday she would accept the Democratic nomination for vice president if Joe Biden chooses her for the job.

“If asked, I would be honored to serve alongside Joe Biden and do everything in my power to get this country back on track,” the former Orlando police chief said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Demings, who served as a House manager in the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump, criticized the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“At the very least, we ought to be able to have a leader that we can trust,” she said. “We don’t have that right now.”

Demings has made the early list of potential running mates for Biden, who was vice president under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, for the election in November.

Biden has vowed to pick a woman for the role. He also is expected to consider potential nominees such as U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams of Georgia, and others.

In early March, when reports first surfaced in the New York Times about Demings as a possible pick, she would only say she was “humbled” by the possibility.

At the time, Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said Demings was “a viable option” for Biden, in part because she hails from the critically important state of Florida.

Demings “has an excellent track record of accomplishments throughout her career,” Jewett added. “She’s a pathbreaker.”

Demings, 63, had three decades of experience with the Orlando Police Department and served as its first female chief.

Since her election to Congress in 2016, Demings has served on the key Judiciary and Intelligence committees. Her husband, Jerry Demings, is Orange County mayor.

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