Kamala Harris will tour battleground states next week with her vice presidential running mate, in a sign she is ready to make a decision on who she will go for.
The plan, Reuters reported, calls for Harris to name her running mate for the Democratic presidential nomination this weekend.
The short list of candidates under consideration includes Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Several of the contenders were out campaigning for her this weekend in battleground states, in what many saw as tryouts for the vice presidential post.
The field was also shortened when North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper dropped out of the race on Monday, saying “this was simply not the right time for North Carolina and for me as potential national candidates.”
Kamala Harris to tour battleground states next week with her vice presidential candidate
Harris, 59, has been the focus of Democratic attention since President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he was dropping out of the 2024 race.
She quickly took over Biden’s campaign infrastructure and seamlessly transitioned to becoming the de facto Democratic nominee for 2024 last week, when she garnered enough delegate support to win the nomination.
He is now looking for his vice presidential candidate, focusing primarily on men with executive experience from key states to round out the ticket.
His search continues and his teams of lawyers and political aides are still reviewing information.
Harris is holding personal talks with the finalists.
If Harris wins the White House in November, she would be the first woman, the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to serve as president.
Given that, many Democrats have argued that he should balance his ticket, both demographically and politically, with that of his vice presidential pick.
Several of the contenders have already been on his trail.
Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmore were in Pennsylvania over the weekend, although Whitmore has dropped out of the vice presidential race.
Meanwhile, Beshear was in Georgia on Sunday and Buttigieg has been all over cable news, touting Harris’s credentials.
There are reports that Harris has narrowed her choices to Shaprio, Kelly, Beshear and Walz. The four men would be balanced on the list.
Kelly hails from the swing state of Arizona and Shapiro from the swing state of Pennsylvania. Republicans are trying to pick up Minnesota, which Walz owns. And Beshear hails from Kentucky, making him the rare Democrat to win a statewide race in that red state.
The four men would also help attract white, working-class and rural voters who have drifted away from the party. Joe Biden managed to win the support of many of them, which helped him win the White House in 2020.
Here’s a closer look at the contenders:
GOVERNOR JOSH SHAPIRO OF PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
Shapiro, 51, is one of the most popular governors in the United States and won the 2022 election by defeating a Trump-backed Republican.
He is an outspoken advocate for abortion rights who has won three statewide elections in Pennsylvania. His manner of speaking draws comparisons to that of former President Barack Obama.
As attorney general, he rooted out abuse in the Catholic Church.
But he has drawn criticism from the left for his support for Israel’s war on Hamas, a voucher program for private schools and natural gas infrastructure.
Her allies argue that it would help Harris win Pennsylvania, which is part of Democrats’ “blue wall” in Midwestern states to keep Trump out of the White House.
If elected, however, he will likely have to address allegations about one of his top aides and closest allies, Mike Vereb, who resigned amid a sexual harassment investigation.
KENTUCKY GOVERNOR ANDY BESHEAR
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear
Beshear, 46, is a standout in a heavily Republican state.
During her weekend stop in Georgia, Harris talked about winning votes in “tough counties” but emphasized her liberal bona fides: “I’m a proud governor who supports unions. I’m a proud governor who supports freedom of choice. I’m a proud governor who supports public education. I’m a proud governor who supports diversity.”
There have been questions about Beshear’s stance on abortion rights, which he is trying to clarify. He chose self-described “personally pro-life” Democrat Jacqueline Coleman as his lieutenant governor.
Beshear, the Democratic candidate closest in age to JD Vance, openly mocks the Trump surrogate for presenting himself as a son of Appalachia. “I mean, there’s a county that JD Vance claims to be from in Kentucky, and I won it by 22 points last November,” he said.
Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Walz, 60, is a favorite of some progressives.
He brings an atypical national political resume: he was an Army noncommissioned officer, a public school teacher and a state championship high school football coach before entering politics.
Before being elected governor, he was one of the last white Democrats in Congress representing a predominantly rural and small-town House district. He spent 12 years on Capitol Hill.
This is a marked departure from Harris, who hails from the liberal city of San Francisco, which many Democrats say bodes well for the candidacy.
His supporters argue that he is best positioned to attract rural white men and union workers to the Democratic ticket.
SENATOR MARK KELLY OF ARIZONA
Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona
Kelly, 60, is the only major contender in Congress.
He has an impressive military resume and experience as an astronaut.
He has strong Latino support locally and solid relationships with Arizona officials along the U.S.-Mexico border. That balance could give him credibility on immigration policy at a time when Republicans are portraying the high number of migrant border crossings as a national crisis.
But Kelly has had to bolster her credentials with labor, a key Democratic faction.
Kelly has changed his position on union-backed legislation known as the PRO Act, which would make it easier for workers to organize. He was one of the few Democrats not to co-sponsor the bill, saying at the time that he supported the goals but had concerns. After opposition from union leaders, Kelly said this month that he would vote for the bill if it came up for a vote.
His wife, Gabby Giffords, was a former member of Congress who was shot in her district in 2011. Her recovery was a national celebration.
