Yahoo News Who Might Kamala Harris Choose as Her Running Mate?
(Bloomberg) -- Vice President Kamala Harris, the clear favorite for her party’s presidential nomination after potential rivals lined to up back her, has a deep bench of Democratic rising stars to draw from in choosing her running mate.
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Presidential candidates usually announce their vice presidential pick around their party’s convention, which for the Democrats is set for late August. Whoever the nominee is will have a short window to vet and choose a partner.
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Here’s a look at some possible picks who have all endorsed Harris’ bid:
The Astronaut
Mark Kelly (Age 60) — The senator from swing state Arizona holds a seat previously filled by two failed Republican presidential nominees, John McCain and Barry Goldwater. The retired astronaut and Gulf War veteran would lend significant national security bona fides to a Democratic presidential ticket. He also would appeal to those on the left for his work on gun control since the 2011 assassination attempt of his wife, then-Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords. Hailing from a border state, he’s a moderate on immigration and could help neutralize Republican attacks on the Biden administration’s handling of the influx of immigrants along the Mexican border.
The Centrist
Roy Cooper (67) — The term-limited governor of North Carolina is a moderate Democrat who’s never lost an election in a Republican-leaning state Democrats have not won since Barack Obama carried it in 2008. Before being elected governor in 2016, Cooper served four terms as the state’s attorney general and in the state House and state Senate, where he was majority leader. Cooper touts his efforts to expand Medicaid, boost public education and address climate change. The New Republic once described him as the “living, breathing antonym of controversy.”
The Dealmaker
JB Pritzker (59) - The Illinois governor has emerged as a key Democratic power broker, using his family wealth — $4.3 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index — to support candidates and causes. He used his power and influence to secure the opportunity for his hometown of Chicago to host the Democratic National Convention next month, a huge economic boom for the city and state. He publicly supported Biden but in mid-July was caught on a hot mic saying “I don’t like where we are.” In his endorsement of Harris Monday, he said it was “past time” the US elected a woman to the presidency.
The Keystone Candidate
Josh Shapiro (51) — Pennsylvania’s governor since 2023, Shapiro established himself as a rising star in the party with a dominant win in 2022. He enjoys strong approval ratings in the battleground state. A former state attorney general, he gained national attention pushing back against Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. As governor, Shapiro adopted the slogan “Get s—— done,” which was on display last year when he oversaw the rapid repair of a key stretch of Interstate 95, two weeks after a fiery crash caused an overpass to collapse. Shapiro would be the second Jewish vice presidential candidate, though the first, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, was defeated with Al Gore.
The Southerner
Andy Beshear (46) — The popular governor of Kentucky was reelected to a second term last November in a state Trump carried by 26 percentage points in 2020. Beshear has won praise for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters including devastating flooding and tornadoes. He’s touted low unemployment in the state and economic development, including landing two large electric-vehicle battery plants. As a vice presidential pick, he would balance Californian Harris geographically. Asked Monday if he would accept a spot on the ticket, Beshear demurred, but added, “I think if somebody calls you on that what you do is at least listen.”
The New Guy
Wes Moore (45) — The first Black governor of Maryland is seen as one of the brightest stars in the Democratic Party and frequently cited as a future presidential candidate. He worked closely with the White House after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed this year in Baltimore, briefly raising his national profile. Moore was deployed to Afghanistan and led troops before serving as a White House Fellow for then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Moore spent time on Wall Street at Deutsche Bank and Citigroup. He later ran the Robin Hood Foundation, the finance-backed non-profit that works to alleviate poverty in New York, where he forged ties with Republican and Democratic mega-donors.
The Cabinet Member
Pete Buttigieg (42) — The US transportation secretary ran an improbable presidential primary campaign in the 2020 cycle from his perch as mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Buttigieg won the Iowa caucuses and came in second in New Hampshire in 2020, embarrassing the elder statesman Biden who then turned to Black voters in South Carolina to jump-start his sagging campaign. A Navy veteran of the Afghan war, would be the first openly gay man to be nominated for vice president. He’s taken a higher profile than many of his predecessors, selling Biden’s infrastructure plan and making high-profile criticisms of Boeing and other transportation companies.
The Swing-State Governor
Gretchen Whitmer (52) — Michigan governor since 2019, Whitmer embraced tough lockdown rules during the coronavirus pandemic, facing tremendous pushback from some of her constituents and Republicans nationwide. Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot for which more than a dozen men were arrested in 2020. But she handily won reelection in 2022 and her popularity in a key swing state has earned her a spot on any list of potential candidates. She was even vetted for the vice president role in 2020. However, a two-woman ticket would be unprecedented in an already tumultuous campaign. Asked by a local television station Monday about whether she’d accept the VP nomination, Whitmer said, “I’m not planning to go anywhere.”
--With assistance from Akayla Gardner.
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