WASHINGTON – WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris is interviewing half a dozen potential running mates this weekend before a formal announcement and Battlefield tour with their new No. 2 next week.
His interview list includes governors. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota, as well as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, according to two people with knowledge of Harris’ selection process. People were granted anonymity to discuss private campaign deliberations.
Shapiro and Kelly were seen as the favorites during their truncated selection process, which began with evaluating about a dozen names. Some have publicly withdrawn from consideration, such as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, who has been close to Harris since their time as state attorneys general but expressed concerns about regularly traveling out of state if he were on the Democratic ticket. national.
His deadline to choose a running mate is effectively Tuesday, when Harris will launch a tour of seven key battleground statesstarting in Philadelphia.
President Joe Biden told reporters on Friday that he spoke with Harris about his search for a vice presidential nominee, but when asked if he had advice on the qualities she should look for in a running mate, the president publicly demurred. .
“I’m going to let her work it out,” Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House before leaving for Wilmington, Delaware, for the weekend.
Some of people on Harris’s short list abruptly canceled their plans for this weekend, signaling that something might be up in the vice presidential selection process. For example, Shapiro canceled three weekend fundraisers in coastal communities on the coast of Long Island, New York, and his press secretary, Manuel Bonder, offered little explanation as to why.
“The governor’s trip was planned several weeks ago and included several fundraisers for his own campaign committee,” Bonder said in a statement. “His schedule has changed and he will no longer be traveling to the Hamptons this weekend.”
A fundraiser for Shapiro would be organized by Michael Kempner, a member of the President Joe Biden National Finance Committee. Kempner said in a note to guests that the meeting had been postponed and openly advocated for Shapiro to be Harris’ No. 2, writing that “many are speculating that this is a sign that he will be vice president.”
Meanwhile, a video posted on social media by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker — who publicly supports Shapiro for vice president — caused controversy on Friday. It showed a series of Philadelphia-area officials and Democrats promoting Harris for president but also praising Shapiro for vice president, suggesting to some that Parker may have inside knowledge about Harris’ decision.
However, a person with knowledge of the mayor’s thinking said the video was simply the mayor showing support for Harris and the potential for Parker’s friend Shapiro to be his vice presidential running mate. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
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Associated Press writer Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
