CHICAGO _ Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth quietly has been writing an autobiography, her personal story of going from selling flowers on a Hawaiian roadside amid poverty and losing both legs in a combat helicopter crash in Iraq to an improbable rise in national politics.
Her life's latest turn could become the book's climax _ a shot at becoming Joe Biden's running mate. Duckworth is one of at least 13 women being vetted by the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's team, and it's the power of her biography that has helped land her in such select company.
"She's got an incredible life story and as I got into it, I thought this is something the American people will be stunned to hear the details of," said Duckworth's political mentor Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who has read the initial chapters of her book. "She's done so much in her life, overcoming adversity so many different ways. She's got a great story, and I think she'd be a great running mate for Joe Biden."
Of course, there's more to the selection of a running mate than having a dramatic personal story.
Would the candidate be able to assume the duties of the nation's highest office at a moment's notice? Could the candidate become a true partner with whom Biden is comfortable?
And then there's the political calculation of whether the No. 2 selection can rev up the party's base or reach beyond it to deliver votes in pivotal swing states.
For a nonincumbent candidate, the choice of a running mate is the first true example of presidential decision-making, a statement on the candidate's values and agenda. For Biden, who is 77 years old and may serve only one term, the pick largely will be viewed as a potential successor.
"You really have to start by saying, 'Would reachable voters perceive this person as being a plausible president?'" said Joel Goldstein, a St. Louis University law professor and the author of two books on the vice presidency.
"Ultimately, it comes down to a question of: Does Duckworth present herself as somebody who's ready to excel on the national stage, and is she somebody who Vice President Biden sees as a person who can be his political partner for the administration?" Goldstein said.
Duckworth's personal story, quick rise through Democratic politics and deep understanding of military and veterans issues are countered by some political drawbacks.
She doesn't have a long legislative track record of accomplishments. She's run only one statewide race and never a national campaign. She is not from a battleground state. And while as a Thai American she is a woman of color, many Democrats believe Biden should choose a Black woman as the nation confronts a history of systemic racism following the police killing of George Floyd.
Among many in the Washington beltway class, Duckworth isn't top of mind in a group that includes former presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren. The same holds true nationally, with a recent New York Times/Siena poll finding Duckworth is unknown by 72% of voters.
Still, the senator from the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates remains among a select group of seven or eight candidates to have submitted records and sit for interviews with the campaign staff, according to various reports.
"I don't know where she fits in," Democratic strategist David Axelrod said of Duckworth's place in the quadrennial veepstakes.
The Chicago political veteran, who was an architect of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, worked as the media strategist on Duckworth's first 2006 campaign and backed her successful 2012 House bid.
"She has an incomparable personal story that is very compelling," Axelrod said. "The question that Biden will have to ask relative to her is: Does she match this particular moment and does her experience measure up to the job?"
For her part, Duckworth said finding herself in contention for the post hasn't changed her approach to her job. She said she's still calling out Trump "for his racism" and "failure to lead" on the coronavirus. The only difference has been handing over records and answering questions from campaign vetters.
"I believe that Joe Biden is going to pick the right person that he has the best relationship with to govern," Duckworth said in an interview. "I think he's trying to duplicate in many ways the relationship he had with President Obama, and I think that that was a strong one."
