Talk and speculation surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate options are reaching a fever pitch as Democrats jockey for their preferred candidates.
While most of the “veepstakes” talk has been dominated by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), and Texas Gov. North Carolina, Roy Cooper (D), other names are coming up in the conversation. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has increasingly been tipped for the role, while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s allies continue to promote his name as he sweeps the national media landscape.
The efforts come as Harris chooses a vice presidential pick, with the Democratic National Committee saying earlier this week that it would like a decision by Aug. 7.
Shapiro and Kelly received a lot of media coverage due to their strength on the electoral map. Arizona has a total of 11 electoral votes, while Pennsylvania boasts an impressive 19 electoral votes.
Additionally, both states are located in critical regions of the map: Pennsylvania in the Rust Belt and Arizona in the Sun Belt.
“The conventional wisdom is that you hire someone who can help you regionally,” said Democratic strategist Basil Smikle, emphasizing Pennsylvania’s proximity to Michigan and Wisconsin.
Democrats say Arizona is a tougher sell when it comes to regional math arguments. Additionally, Democrats predict the gap in Arizona and other Sun Belt states will narrow, assuming Harris can make inroads into the region’s increasingly racially diverse population.
“I don’t know if there is any regional benefit to Arizona outside of actual Arizona,” Smikle said. “From a conventional standpoint, maybe that doesn’t weigh so much in Kelly’s favor.”
Not all Democrats and Republicans are convinced on the regional front, both pointing to former Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s inability to win his home state of Wisconsin in 2012.
However, Democrats and Republicans point to Shapiro and Kelly as good candidates who could compliment Harris.
An Emerson College/The Hill poll released Thursday showed Shapiro with a 49 percent approval rating and a 31 percent disapproval rating. Additionally, 22% of Pennsylvania Republicans said they approved of Shapiro, while 46% of independents said the same. Shapiro also has a record of winning several state elections in the swing state and, like Harris, served as attorney general of his home state.
Kelly also has a history of winning several state races in his home state and tells a compelling story of being a former Navy pilot and astronaut. Additionally, he has a more conservative record on the southern border issue, an issue on which Republicans are already attacking Harris.
But both men also have their own detractors within the political left. Although Kelly said this week that he would support the PRO Act, which would ease the path to establishing unions and entering into labor contracts, he has a longer track record of not signing legislation.
“The unions will be furious with Kelly, even if it’s behind the scenes,” said a Democratic source.
And although Shapiro backed away from an earlier decision to support a Republican-led effort to deliver $100 million in school vouchers to families to pay for private school tuition, some Democrats still say they are fed up.
The biggest problem for Shapiro may be his pro-Israel stance, which many on the party’s progressive flank say is a deal breaker. Some far-left activists even formed a campaign dubbed “Genocide Josh”, with the intention of reducing the governor’s chances of vice president.
However, other Democrats are reacting to the effort against Shapiro, who is Jewish, calling it “anti-Semitic” and “counterproductive.”
“To characterize him in any way as right-wing on Israel issues or as an Israel hawk or as pro-Likud or as Bibi couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist. “They are not using this moment to unite people, but they are going out of their way, causing division and attacking someone who could be the first Jewish vice president.”
Cooper and Beshear also continue to be part of the running mate’s pitch, with many of their supporters saying their status as Southern governors could help Harris with moderate and some conservative-leaning voters.
Although Beshear has emerged as Harris’ attack dog against Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance in particular, many Democrats say his delivery has fallen flat and that Kentucky, a deep red state, ultimately doesn’t add much to the Harris effort.
“He’s a great governor, I don’t want to take anything away from him. He’s dry, boring toast,” said one Democratic strategist. “And if you look at some of his best lines that people praise, in my opinion, they are infinitely more interesting when read than when said.”
Cooper, on the other hand, could help Harris in North Carolina, which has emerged as a real opportunity for Democrats.
“North Carolina is a microcosm of the nation,” said Jess Jollet, executive director of Progress North Carolina, pointing to its successful electoral and political record in the state.
“If America knew Cooper, they would fall in love with him the same way North Carolinians do,” she added.
Democrats also point to the fact that Cooper is 67 years old as an advantage, pointing to the generational bridge he could bring to the ticket, even though he would still be younger than Biden and Trump.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), 60, also joined the broader running mate chat this week, with Democrats praising his affable personality, cross-union accolades and national experience as president of the Association of Democratic Governors.
“I think Walz is making a strong argument,” the Democratic source said.
March For Our Lives co-founder and Gen Z activist David Hogg is among the governor’s most vocal supporters, helping to create a Walz War Room Twitter account.
Walz’s supporters shared an interview he gave with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki this week in which he referred to the party’s Republican opponents as the “weird people on the other side.”
“They want to take the books away. They want to be in your exam room. That’s what matters,” Walz said, making Psaki laugh.
Buttigieg has also been in the national media, recently appearing on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News.
Keith Edwards, a Democratic digital strategist, noted what he said was a surge in online interest in the mayor-turned-presidential-candidate-turned-Transportation Secretary in recent days.
“The Pete Buttigieg stuff I post online does a lot better than anything else,” Edwards said.
Edwards’ recent videos about Buttigieg on his YouTube page on Friday garnered as many as 25,000 views and 413,000 views.
“There’s a real energy behind it. I don’t know if that will correlate with who the vice president chooses, but I think it’s significant,” Edwards said.
While many Democrats are in the position of potential running mates, many say that ultimately Harris can do no wrong.
“Any one of those people would be a great teammate for her,” Reinish said. “The campaign just needs to decide between…who has the best chemistry with her, shares the same policies, communicates the partnership and the platform well, but also whether this is going to be a state-based decision or a vibrant decision.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
