Who will be picked for vice president? Let’s discuss who’s qualified for the job

President Joe Biden holds hands with Vice President Kamala Harris at a reception for Black History Month on Feb. 6, 2024, at the White House. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images by Christopher Devine, University of Dayton The November presidential election might seem far away, but it’s time for the veepstakes – already. You know, that favorite game of pundits, politicos and political junkies who, every four years, obsess over the presidential candidates’ choice for vice president. Of course, most states have not yet held their presidential primary or caucus. And nominations won’t be made official until the summer Democratic and Republican conventions. But with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on track to win their party’s nominations, media headlines are already turning to the veepstakes. Who will Trump pick for vice president? Did he really ask Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his running mate? Will Biden drop Vice President Kamala Harris from the Democratic ticket? As a political scientist who has studied veepstakes media coverage, I advise anyone following the vice presidential race to take all of this feverish speculation with a grain of salt. You’ll hear in the speculation, for example, that vice presidents don’t really...