O’Rourke: ‘It would be very difficult not to select a woman’ as running mate

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said late Saturday that it would be “very difficult not to select a woman” as his running mate if he wins his party’s nomination in 2020.

“It would be very difficult not to select a woman with so many extraordinary women who are running right now,” he said during a campaign stop in Dubuque, Iowa, The Dallas Morning News reported.

{mosads}”But first I would have to win,” he said. “You know, this is as open as it has ever been.”

O’Rourke added that it would be “presumptuous” to think about a vice presidential selection, according to the newspaper.

He later told someone attending the event that it would be his “preference” to select a female running mate, the Morning News added.

O’Rourke, a former congressman from Texas who announced his 2020 bid last week, is part of a crowded and historically diverse pool of Democratic candidates vying to take on President Trump.

The Morning News noted that it includes four female senators — Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Kamala Harris (Calif.) Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) — as well as Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii).

Last month, Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), another Democratic presidential candidate, said he would prioritize finding a female running mate if he is the Democratic nominee, the newspaper added.

Booker told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow that he would be “looking to women first” as his pick for vice president.

O’Rourke served three terms in Congress before losing a bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last year.

He was criticized last week for saying that his wife, Amy, raises their children “sometimes” with his help. O’Rourke has pledged to be more mindful about how he talks about his family.

This report was updated at 8:46 a.m.