Ever since President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection, rumors have swirled as to who Vice President Kamala Harris would choose as her running mate against former President Donald Trump.
In recent weeks, some prominent Democrats have come forward stating that they will not serve as Harris’ vice president. This includes Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
Harris’ campaign is expected to announce her vice president pick on Tuesday, according to a report from Politico.
On Sunday, Harris reportedly held interviews with Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the vice president’s residence in Washington. A source with the selection process said it was possible that Harris has spoken virtually to other potential picks, or might do so Monday.
Reportedly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker have also been reviewed by the Harris campaign vetting team (via Politico):
While the precise nature of the rollout is not final, campaign insiders are pointing to President Joe Biden’s 2020 video introduction of Harris as a likely model. A media leak of the pick could upend those plans, they said.
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Biden in 2020 formally introduced Harris in a two-minute video released five days before the Democratic National Convention that included video of the future president calling Harris to ask her to join the ticket. Media reports, however, broke the news the night before the video was released, which the Biden campaign acknowledged with online postings.
Last week, signs began pointing to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as Harris’ running mate. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker posted and then quickly deleted a video that appears to announce Shapiro as Kamala’s running mate.
This week, Cooper said he withdrew his name from consideration because he did not want to hand over power to his Republican lieutenant governor.
“We have one of these archaic constitutional provisions, I call them wagon wheel provisions, where when the governor leaves the state, the constitution says the lieutenant governor becomes the governor,” Cooper said. “It doesn’t make any sense that the lieutenant governor would take over.”