Harris grapples with VP shortlist short on long personal relationships- Washington Examiner
Vice President Kamala Harris is currently considering potential candidates for her vice presidential running mate, focusing on electability and personal connections. Among those on her shortlist are Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, both of whom could help her secure votes in key battleground states. However, Harris’s relationships with these candidates, as well as others like Governors Andy Beshear, J.B. Pritzker, and Tim Walz, are described as limited despite some past interactions, such as a fellowship program she shared with Shapiro in 2006. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is also mentioned as a close associate, given their collaboration in the Biden administration. Harris’s consideration of these candidates highlights her need for both a strategic advantage and a deeper personal rapport in her selection process.
Harris grapples with VP short list short on long personal relationships
Electability and personal connection are among Vice President Kamala Harris‘s top considerations as she contemplates her second-in-command short list.
While candidates such as Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) could help Harris win their battleground home states, her histories with them and the other men who are reportedly vice presidential finalists are relatively sparse.
Harris’s working relationship with Shapiro, for example, dates back to 2006 when the pair both participated in a young politician fellowship program, according to CNN. But although their relationship has been long, it is not necessarily deep. Shapiro, alongside other contenders such as Govs. Andy Beshear (D-KY), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), and Tim Walz (D-MN), also attended a listening session held at her residence, the Naval Observatory, in February to provide feedback on President Joe Biden‘s campaign.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, with whom she has served in Biden’s administration and met for 90 minutes on Friday, stepped in to play former Vice President Mike Pence, who, like Buttigieg, hails from Indiana, as part of her preparation for her 2020 debate against him.
Harris was California‘s attorney general during Beshear’s first year in the same role in Kentucky, though she was running to become one of the Golden State’s senators at the time. She later served in the same chamber as Kelly for two weeks in 2021 before she was inaugurated as vice president.
Harris is reportedly sitting down with her vetting team this weekend to receive in-depth reports on her potential vice presidential nominees, according to CNN, with former Attorney General Eric Holder, whose law firm is spearheading the process, spotted arriving at her residence on Saturday.
Harris’s self-imposed deadline to make a decision is next Tuesday. Her campaign announced this week that she and her running mate would embark on a five-day, seven-state swing starting in Philadelphia on that day.
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