Kamala Harris narrows in on her VP Picks as two contenders emerge

Kamala Harris set to name her running mate ahead of a campaign rally in Philadelphia as Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and Minnesota governor Tim Walz emerge as favourites.

Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to name her running mate today, ahead of a campaign rally in Philadelphia. The pair will visit seven battleground states heading into the Democratic National Convention in two weeks.

It’s the highest-profile decision of her accelerated presidential campaign, and a signal that she wants to shore up her support in centrist states like Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Arizona, among others. Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes; Minnesota has 10; and Arizona has 11. The winner will need 270 electors to win in November.

Speculation had been building for weeks since President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he wasn’t seeking re-election, and he endorsed Harris. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” Biden said.

The winner will have emerged from a narrow field of contenders that had reportedly included: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker had also been mentioned as potential candidates.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Picture: AFP)

Reuters on Monday reported that Harris was choosing between finalists Walz and Shapiro, citing three unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Shapiro, 51, a former Pennsylvania Attorney-General, last month described Harris as a “tough-as-nails prosecutor who went after dangerous criminals, but also had a heart to stand up for our victims.” “She wasn’t afraid to take on the powerful,” he said at a July 29 campaign event with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “She took on those opioid companies. She took on the big banks. She took on the polluters. And when she looked them in the eye, she won every single time … She learned to fight for the underdog. She stood up every day as the United States senator, fighting for the middle class, fighting every day for our working families.” Shapiro won the Pennsylvania governor’s race in 2022 by soundly defeating Doug Mastriano, a Republican candidate who aligned himself with former President Donald Trump, now the Republican presidential candidate.

When he cancelled last-minute fundraising events in the Hamptons over the weekend, observers wondered if it signalled something related to his consideration as Harris’ vice president.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. Picture: AFP.

Walz, 60, is a former public high school teacher and football coach who is popular with progressive Democrats. He served in the Army National Guard and is a former U.S. congressman. He has championed issues ranging from free school meals to reproductive freedom, to clean energy, and middle-class tax cuts.

Walz is also a frequent guest on television news shows and known for making folksy quips, recently posting: “Holy smokes! An enormous congratulations to Minnesota Olympians Suni Lee and Regan Smith. Your home state is so proud.” He started calling comments made by Trump and some other Republicans “weird,” a description the Harris campaign and other Democrats quickly adopted.

He is unabashedly pro-Minnesota on X, noting that Minnesota ensures reproductive freedom and services like in vitro fertilisation, offers paid family leave, was recently ranked No. 1 in the nation for health care, and that nearly 440,000 children benefit from the state’s child tax credit.

Beshear, 46, is the son of a former Kentucky governor and also a former state attorney general. The Kentucky native is also liked by progressives. His website highlights his efforts to secure private-sector investments in economic development and job creation in the state as well as support for infrastructure, including two electric vehicle battery plants. He has also backed policies to improve public education, expand access to healthcare, and expand early voting.

Beshear told the Des Moines Register last week that he would be eager to debate Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who wrote a book about growing up poor in Appalachia. Beshear has called Vance phony, and Vance in turn has called out Beshear’s privileged upbringing. “Our debate would admittedly be a little bit personal,” Beshear told the Register.

Kelly, 60, is a former NASA astronaut and Navy combat pilot and is seen as bringing heft to the ticket on border and immigration issues. He was elected to the Arizona senate seat formerly held by the late Republican Sen. John McCain, and took office in 2020.

His Senate website highlights his support of the bipartisan infrastructure law, funding to build the semiconductor industry in the U.S., lowering prescription drug prices, and improving government accountability.

Kelly recently told CNN that Democrats would be able to hold his seat in Arizona if he were elected vice president. “I don’t think it will be an issue,” he said. “We’ve got a great slate of other Democrats, but this is not about me.” A Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll last week said Shapiro and Kelly were favoured by Democrats, though one in four remains unsure who Harris should pick. The poll found 15% of Democrats saying Shapiro should be the pick, 14% said Kelly, and 4% said Beshear. Walz wasn’t listed.

The betting site PredictIt.org on Monday afternoon had 62-cent bets in favour of Shapiro; 39-cent bets favouring Walz; 3 cents on Beshear; 2 cents on Kelly; and 1 cent on Buttigieg.

Harris was expected to kick off a week of campaigning through seven battleground states, starting in Philadelphia on Tuesday. From there, she will speak in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.

The Democratic National Convention runs from Aug. 19 to 22 in Chicago. Meanwhile, Trump withdrew from his previously scheduled Sept. 10 debate with Biden on ABC, proposing a Sept. 4 debate on Fox News instead. He said on his social media that he wanted a debate held somewhere in Pennsylvania, moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, with the same rules as his June 27 Biden debate – “but with a full arena audience!” Harris responded on X that “It’s interesting how ‘any time, any place’ becomes ‘one specific time, one specific safe space.’ I’ll be there on September 10th, like he agreed to. I hope to see him there.” At her July 30 rally at the Georgia State Convention Center, Harris noted that both Trump and his vice presidential pick JD Vance had stepped up their criticism of her, adding: “Well, Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage, because as the saying goes, ‘If you got something to say, say it to my face.’” Trump on Saturday responded: “Kamala Harris doesn’t have the mental capacity to do a REAL Debate against me … I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all.”

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