Just four months before the highly anticipated presidential election in November, the newly endorsed Democratic candidate is narrowing her choice for running mate.
Vice President Kamala Harris has apparently chiseled her options down to having two top candidates for who will join her on the ticket this fall. The apparent progress in the process—which has needed to be conducted quickly due to the Democratic National Convention being scheduled for next week—comes mere weeks after President Joe Biden historically dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris to take his place.
The vice president has the delegate support to earn the party’s 2024 nomination and is expected to be officially nominated by party leaders before and during the upcoming convention. According to inside sources, the candidate’s campaign team has met with a total of six individuals who have been rumored to be under consideration for the position.
This number is cut in half from the initial reports that Harris had a dozen people who were first listed as potential running mates. The six individuals who have personally met with the presidential candidate include Democratic governors Tim Walz (Minnesota), Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), J.B. Pritzker (Illinois), Andy Beshear (Kentucky), Sen. Mark Kelly (Arizona), and Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation.
Earlier this week, Harris shared that her vice-presidential candidate had “not yet” been selected, although her decision is expected to be revealed next Tuesday. She is scheduled to be in Philadelphia starting on August 6.
While some are speculating that the vice president pick will turn out to be Shapiro due to where Harris will be when she makes her announcement, one source warned not to read into the location, which was picked regardless of its connection to leading candidate Shapiro.
Meanwhile, additional speculation is circulating around the Pennsylvania governor and Sen. Kelly, from Arizona, both of whom reportedly met with members of the vice president’s team most recently. Harris was not present at these specific meetings, although she met with each candidate still on her list while on the campaign trail.
Both Arizona and Pennsylvania are known to be key battleground states that could be critical for winning the Electoral College in November.