As Kamala Harris approaches her running mate selection this weekend, a new focus is being placed on Minnesota’s governor. Tim Walz, people familiar with the search told CNNeven if the vice president considers that Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro or Arizona senator Mark Kelly would help deliver a victory in their states considered “key” for the election.
Harris is conducting in-person interviews with the final candidates, two sources said, and Walz is expected to meet with her this Sunday. She will also interview Shapiro and Kelly on Sunday, according to a family source.
In the final days of the accelerated vice presidential search, after teams of lawyers finished their exhaustive research work and preliminary interviews with the candidates, Harris was most concerned about what one senior Democrat close to the process described the criteria as: “competence, chemistry and fundamental values.”
Harris is mulling the decision with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and a small circle of confidants. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, along with Harris’ brother-in-law Tony West, were central counsel throughout the process. West served as a top lieutenant to Holder at the Justice Department in the Obama administration.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly have also been told they are still under consideration, people familiar with the process said. Harris doesn’t want to make a final decision this weekend or long before a rally with his running mate in Philadelphia.
Harris met with her selection team on Saturday for a series of in-depth presentations on each of the finalists, according to a source familiar with the process. Each briefing should last approximately 60 to 90 minutes.
According to multiple sources, Saturday’s appearances were expected to reduce the number of candidates Harris would invite to final interviews on Sunday.
Harris’ main consideration is electability, sources familiar with her thinking told CNN.
“She will look at what a person brings to the ticket. Does this help in important states? And will it balance the ticket?” a source said.
“And she will ask questions. She will press and press – which is her modus operandi.”
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