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Journalism of Courage
Vice President Kamala Harris, endorsed by President Joe Biden to succeed him as the Democratic presidential candidate, will have a bench of new-generation party leaders to turn to when she will move toward picking a running mate.
By now, the list of possibilities is fairly well known: Democrats who had already seemed like potential presidential contenders in 2028 or as potential candidates themselves this year.
Harris could be inclined to turn to someone from a swing state that the party needs to win. She is also likely to turn to a male running mate, Democrats said, to give the ticket balance.
Here is a look at the names of Democrats on Harris’ desk now.
Shapiro, 51, was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 2022 after serving as the state’s attorney general from 2017 until he moved into the governor’s office. Pennsylvania is a must-win state for Democrats, and Shapiro’s stock among Democrats rose after he swamped his Republican opponent in 2022, Doug Mastriano, winning 56% of the vote.
The Arizona senator first rose to national prominence after his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, survived an assassination attempt in 2011. Kelly, 60, a veteran of the Navy and a former astronaut, began campaigning for stricter gun control. He won his Senate seat in 2020.
He has carved out an image as a moderate in Arizona, building a coalition that relied on white women in the suburbs as well as young Latino voters who were crucial in delivering the state to Biden in 2020. That kind of coalition is likely to be essential if Democrats hope to hold on to the White House this year.
At 46, Beshear is a two-term Democratic governor from Kentucky, a solidly Republican state. When he first won in 2019, his victory was regarded as a fluke; Trump won the state by about 30 percentage points three years earlier. But last year, he easily won reelection not only by capturing cities, but also small rural counties where he had previously lost.
He has emphasised the “common good,” working with Republicans on legislation, including medical marijuana, and often talks about his Christian faith. It is a message that could be particularly appealing for Democrats now, as they try to win over moderate white voters in the suburbs.
Pritzker, 59, has been the governor of Illinois since 2019. That is not a swing state, but he is a billionaire, and he could help finance the campaign of Harris. That is no small matter as Trump has seen an avalanche of financial support since Biden’s poor debate appearance in Atlanta last month.
Cooper is the governor of North Carolina, which at best be called a swing-ish state — Barack Obama won there in 2008. Picking him might put it in play, or at the least, press the Trump campaign to invest money in a state it would otherwise not have to worry about.
