Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at West Allis Central High School on July 23, 2024 in West Allis, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris interviewed candidates to be her running mate over the weekend, continuing a closely watched deliberation that is expected to end with an announcement on Monday or Tuesday.
Harris met with the governor of Pennsylvania. Josh ShapiroMinnesota Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona at the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington on Sunday, according to multiple media outlets reports. Some reports indicated that these three were the finalists for the position, while others said more candidates may have been interviewed virtually.
Governor of Kentucky Andy BeshearTransportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker were also considered in the race.
Reporters monitored at vice president’s residence identified old Attorney General Eric Holderwho is leading the evaluation of potential Harris running mates, entering the complex Saturday morning.
Harris is scheduled to begin a seven-state campaign trip with her running mate in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Spokespeople for Harris’ campaign did not respond to a message seeking comment Monday morning.
Kelly Tweets Examined
Kelly’s social media activity on Sunday fueled speculation about her status. He tweeted and then deleted a post about his experience in the U.S. Navy and as a NASA astronaut that ended with “Now, my mission is to serve Arizonans.”
Some read the post to reflect that Kelly was no longer a vice presidential candidate.
Later he sent another publish with a similar theme about his biography that ended with: “I learned that when your country asks you to serve, you always answer the call.”
Jacob Peters, Kelly’s spokesman, tweeted that Kelly’s posts were over-analyzed.
“An Arizona senator tweeting about being an Arizona senator is nothing new!” He wrote. “Go back to your Sundays, everyone!”
Interviews to investigate weaknesses
Jon Green, a political science professor at Duke University in North Carolina, told States Newsroom that the weekend’s interviews will likely test candidates’ answers to questions that will arise as they join the ticket.
Each potential pick would bring strengths and weaknesses, and Harris may be questioning how they would address perceived concerns, he said.
Shapiro, the popular governor of a must-win state, has faced objections from progressive Democratic activists over his stances on school vouchers, which are deeply contested by the teachers unions that are part of the Democratic base, and over his response to protests against the war in Gaza, Green said.
“I think Harris will probably ask him, ‘How are you going to deal — or how are we going to deal, if you’re chosen — with the coalition dynamics there?’” Green said.
Shapiro’s known policy preferences toward Israel are not out of line with those of other candidates, but he has made harsher public comments about protesters at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kelly may also have had to answer how he would deal with being seen as “the least pro-labor” of the potential running mates, Green said.
The Harris campaign could examine whether Walz, who has emerged as a favorite of the party’s progressive wing, effectively balances Harris’s liberal profile, Green said.
Walz led progressive bills through a closely divided state Legislature.
“It endeared him to the left wing of the coalition,” Green said. “That could be seen as a potential risk in the general election campaign if the problem is that they’re putting forward this left-wing agenda, he’s almost too good at passing liberal legislation for the median voter.”
