AMBLER, Pa. – Vice President Kamala Harris is set to launch a battleground tour next week with her yet-to-be-named running mate, with stops in seven swing states stretching from Pennsylvania to Nevada, her campaign said Tuesday.
The planned tour is the latest sign of the whirlwind pace at which Harris has gone from President Joe Biden’s supportive running mate to likely Democratic nominee ready to identify her No. 2 and take on Republican Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
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Harris said Tuesday she hadn't made a decision yet on whom she will select.
Those who are under consideration have been demonstrating a time-honored tradition: summertime auditions in which vice presidential contenders walk the line between open self-promotion and loyal advocacy for the potential boss.
To that end, Democrat Josh Shapiro told enthusiastic voters in suburban Philadelphia this week that Harris belongs in the White House — and then reminded them of all he’s done as governor of battleground Pennsylvania. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, likewise, told voters in Georgia that Harris has the makings of “a great president” — and then highlighted the elections he's won as a Democrat in Republican territory.
Harris' campaign has been vetting about a dozen potential running mates, according to people familiar with the search process. Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly are seen as among the front-runners, according to the people.
The campaign said Harris and her running mate will make stops next week in Philadelphia; western Wisconsin; Detroit; Raleigh, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Phoenix and Las Vegas.
In the meantime, Harris advisers, led by former Attorney General Eric Holder, have been combing through reams of paperwork submitted by potential running mates, while the candidate herself is holding personal conversations with the finalists, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details that haven’t been made public.
Harris, according to another person familiar with the matter, is seeking someone with executive experience who can also serve as a governing partner. Notions of a so-called short list have not stopped those on the Democrats' broader national bench from finding the spotlight.
“I’m not going to talk about the interactions I’ve had with the campaign,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared recently on MSNBC. He added, though, “Let’s just say I’m aware that the vetting process is quite an in depth one.” Then he listed his accomplishments, offering that he was the only Midwestern governor to raise his state minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Harris would be the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president. Many Democrats have argued she should balance her ticket both demographically and politically.
Dems' VP list has notable differences
Shapiro, 51, is among the most popular U.S. governors, winning his 2022 election in a rout over a Trump-endorsed Republican. He’s an outspoken supporter of abortion rights who has won three statewide elections in Pennsylvania. His speaking style draws comparisons to former President Barack Obama. But he has taken flak from the left for his support for Israel’s war on Hamas, a private school voucher program and natural gas infrastructure.
His allies argue that he would help Harris win Pennsylvania, complicating if not blocking Trump’s path to an Electoral College majority.
Like all contenders, Shapiro sidesteps questions about the vetting process and stresses Harris should not be pressured. But he's mentioned more than once that he’s known her for nearly two decades.
Beshear stands out in a heavily Republican state. During his weekend stop in Georgia, he talked of winning votes in “tough counties” but emphasized liberal bona fides: “I am a proud pro-union governor. I am a proud pro-choice governor. I am a proud public education governor. I am a proud pro-diversity governor.”
Closest in age to JD Vance among the Democrats’ possibilities, Beshear openly mocks Trump's understudy for presenting himself as a son of Appalachia. “I mean, there’s a county that JD Vance says he’s from in Kentucky – and I won it by 22 points last November,” he said.
Beshear and Shapiro were both state attorneys general, like Harris, before becoming governors. But their tenures did not overlap considerably with Harris' service in California. She worked more closely with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper during his days as an attorney general, but Cooper on Monday said he had opted not to be considered for vice president.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, 60, is a favorite of some progressives. He brings an atypical national political resume: He was a non-commissioned Army officer, public school teacher and state high school championship football coach before entering politics. Before being elected governor, he was one of the last white Democrats in Congress to represent a mostly rural, small-town House district — a notable juxtaposition to Harris, the Bay Area Californian.
“She will make the best choice she’s going to,” Walz said Sunday on CNN, a day after Trump held a mass rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota. “One way or another, she is going to win in November, and that’s going to benefit everyone,” Walz said, including “a lot of those folks who were out in St. Cloud with the (former) president.”
Kelly, 60, is the only top contender in Congress. He boasts 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 as Republicans frame high numbers of migrant border crossings as a national crisis.
But Kelly has had to shore up his credentials with labor, a key Democratic faction. He took heat from union leaders because he was one of just a handful of Democrats who did not sponsor the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would make it easier to organize workers. He said at the time he supported the goals but had concerns. Following pressure this month, he now says he would vote for the bill if it came up for a vote.
Everyone has an opinion
While Harris considers her choices, everyone seems to have an opinion.
Steven Benjamin, the White House director of public engagement, laughed as he told reporters on Air Force One on Monday that his office has received thousands of recommendations from around the country.
Donna Brazile, who managed Democrat Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000 and was instrumental in urging Biden to pick Harris in 2020, said the selection process involves “a lot of noise” that underplays the complexity of the decision.
“The most important stage is what the lawyers will do to you,” she said, with a laugh and emphasizing the seriousness. “It’s worse than a dental hygiene check. ... Before you get to suitability and other factors, before it gets to political people like me, they’ve done a forensic examination of your life.”
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Barrow reported from Cumming, Georgia. Associated Press reporters Will Weissert in Washington, Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Kentucky; Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix; and Colleen Long aboard Air Force One contributed.