Who could be be Kamala’s No. 2?
Vice President Kamala Harris is the overwhelming frontrunner to lead the new-look Democratic ticket after President Biden pulled out of the race Sunday and endorsed her to replace him.
Within moments of the dramatic announcement, Democrats started pondering who would be the best choices to run as vice president on a ticket led by Harris.
Harris, 59, would be the first Black woman to run for president as the nominee of a major political party. She’s also a liberal from deep-blue California.
That profile would put a premium on her choosing a partner from the Midwest or another swing state, with a moderate white male potentially adding appeal to those voters who might be uncomfortable with shattering too many glass ceilings at once.
Here’s a few of the potential veeps (in no particular order) to round out a Harris ticket:
State of State Michigan
Al Goldis/AP Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich.
Gretchen Whitmer
Call it the XX ticket.
The Michigan governor is the best known Democratic governor from any of the so-called Midwest blue wall states.
She is young, articulate, hugely popular in her home state and could help bring Pennsylvania and Wisconsin into the Democratic count as well with her tough-as-nails Midwest demeanor.
Oh, and she’s a woman. That might raise the risks but also the opportunity for Democrats looking to take on the Trump-Vance ticket of two white men.
It could also put an exclamation point on Democrats’ focus on abortion rights as one of their strongest issues.
Josh Shapiro
The Pennsylvania governor is another very popular Democratic leader of a Rust Belt swing state.
A moderate, Shapiro swept to victory in 2022 by outrunning the rest of his ticket across the Keystone state, a key battleground state where former President Trump has grabbed a lead in polls.
He would be the first Jewish vice president.
At 51, Shapiro is a first term governor, raising some questions about his experience and political chops.
Andy Beshear
The baby-faced Beshear grabbed headlines with an eye-opening re-election victory in ruby red Kentucky last year, giving him instant credibility as a moderate Democrat to watch and a rising star.
He waste no time test-driving attack lines against Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, who claims roots in the Bluegrass state.
“I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is and what they look like, because let me just tell you that J.D. Vance ain’t from here,” Beshear said Monday.
Sen. Mark Kelly
The Arizona senator is a popular moderate from the key swing state of Arizona.
He’s perhaps less well known nationally than some other would-be candidates and at 60 is a bit older than others on Harris’ potential short list.
Kelly is a former astronaut, a resume line like few others for attracting votes in middle America.
Kelly is married to ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a liberal hero who became one of the nation’s most prominent gun-control advocates after narrowly surviving an assassination attempt.
One big drawback? If he became vice president, it would force Democrats to defend a potentially vulnerable Senate seat in 2026 that they can ill afford to lose.
AP Photo/José Luis Villegas, File
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/José Luis Villegas, File)
Gavin Newsom
He’s from California, so let’s just say he would be a long shot to join fellow Golden Stater on the ticket.
But Newsom is one of the most well known and articulate Democrats on the national stage and would have been considered a top candidate to run if Biden had stepped aside earlier.
He took just a couple of hours to endorse Harris, suggesting he wants to avoid questions about his loyalty to her and the emerging ticket.
J.B. Pritzker
As the governor of deep-blue Illinois, Pritzker brings no swing state bounce but he is perhaps the nation’s most powerful Midwestern Democrat and that heft has to count for something.
Scion of a wealthy Chicagoland family, he would balance the ticket well and surely calm fears that Harris is too progressive.
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Susan Walsh/AP Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (Susan Walsh/AP)
Pete Buttigieg
The sitting transportation secretary is widely considered one of the smartest and best communicators in the Democratic stable of national leaders.
The openly gay former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, burst onto the scene with a losing 2020 run for the nomination that won him mostly praise as an effective campaigner.
A military veteran and native Midwesterner, he is very comfortable talking to conservative audiences, including on Fox News.
He performed abysmally with Black and Latino voters in the ’20 race, suggesting he may have less than universal appeal with the Democratic base.
Roy Cooper
Hannah Schoenbaum/AP North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper affixes his veto stamp to a bill banning nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy at a public rally, May 13, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C. (Hannah Schoenbaum/AP)
Roy Cooper
A folksy two-term governor of swing state North Carolina, Cooper might put the Tarheel state in play for Democrats.
He fits the bill as a moderate white man from the south to balance California Kamala. But at 67, he might undercut a winning argument for youth.
