“I know she’s very much in the mix,” a source close to the Biden campaign said.

One factor to watch is Biden’s relationship with Rice. The two worked closed in the Obama administration, and personal chemistry is an underrated factor in vice presidential decisions.

“I know they have a good relationship. Perhaps the best relationship of anyone on the list,” the source close to the Biden campaign said. “They’ve known each other for years, they’ve worked alongside each other and she’s been tested in a way that a lot of folks on the list just haven’t been.”…

“Everyone automatically thinks of Kamala when they think he needs to pick a woman of color. It’s become conventional wisdom,” said a source who worked in the Obama administration alongside Biden and Rice. “But if you look at Susan’s credentials, she makes perfect sense. She’s a rock star who has the confidence, stature and gravitas to be vice president.”