Harris ‘veepstakes’ reaches fever pitch

Chatter and speculation surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate options is reaching a fever pitch as Democrats jockey for their preferred candidates.

While most of the “veepstakes” talk has been dominated by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), other names are popping up in the conversation. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has increasingly been floated for the position, while allies of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are continuing to push his name as he sweeps the national media scene.

The efforts come as time ticks down for Harris to choose a vice presidential pick, with the Democratic National Committee saying earlier this week they would like a decision by Aug. 7.

Shapiro and Kelly have received a large share of media play because of their strength on the electoral map. Arizona carries a total of 11 electoral votes, while Pennsylvania boasts a whopping 19 electoral votes.

Additionally, both states are located in critical regions of the map: Pennsylvania in the Rust Belt and Arizona in the Sun Belt.

“The conventional wisdom is that you get someone that might help you regionally,” said Democratic strategist Basil Smikle, emphasizing Pennsylvania’s proximity to Michigan and Wisconsin.

Democrats say Arizona is a tougher sell when it comes to regional math arguments. Additionally, Democrats predict the gap in Arizona and other Sun Belt states to narrow, assuming Harris can make inroads with the increasingly racially diverse population in the region.

“I don’t know that there’s any regional benefit to Arizona outside of actual Arizona,” Smikle said. “From the conventional wisdom, maybe that does not weigh so much in Kelly’s favor.”

Not all Democrats and Republicans are convinced on the regional front, both pointing to former Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan’s inability to win his home state of Wisconsin in 2012.

However, Democrats and Republicans point to Shapiro and Kelly as good candidates that could compliment Harris.

An Emerson College/The Hill survey released on Thursday showed Shapiro with a 49 percent approval rating and a 31 percent disapproval rating. On top of that, 22 percent of Pennsylvania Republicans said they approved of Shapiro while 46 percent of independents said the same. Shapiro also has a record of winning multiple statewide elections in the battleground state and like Harris, served as his home state’s attorney general.

Kelly also has a record of winning multiple statewide races in his battleground home state and tells a compelling story of being a former Navy pilot and astronaut. Additionally, he has a more conservative record on the issue of the southern border, an issue Republicans are already attacking Harris over.

But both men also have their own detractors within the political left. While Kelly said this week he would back the PRO Act, which would ease the path to establishing unions and reaching labor contracts, he has a longer history of not signing on to the legislation.

“Unions will be livid with Kelly, even if it’s behind the scenes,” said one Democratic source.

And while Shapiro backed off a previous decision to support a Republican-led effort to deliver $100 million in school vouchers to families for private school tuition, some Democrats still say they are weary.

The bigger issue for Shapiro could be his pro-Israel stance, which many in the party’s progressive flank say is a deal breaker. Some far-left activists have even formed a campaign dubbed “Genocide Josh,” with the intention of lowering the governor’s vice-presidential chances.

However, other Democrats are hitting back at the effort against Shapiro, who is Jewish, calling it “antisemitic” and “counterproductive.”

“To somehow characterize him as rightwing on Israel issues or an Israel hawk or pro-Likud or Bibi could not be farther from the truth,” said Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist. “They’re not using this moment to proceed to unite people, but they are digging in, being divisive and doing knives out for someone who could be the first Jewish vice president.”

Cooper and Beshear are also continuing to be a part of the running mate discourse, with many of their supporters saying their status as southern governors could help Harris with moderate and some conservative-leaning voters.

While Beshear has emerged as Harris’s attack dog against GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance in particular, many Democrats say his delivery has fallen flat and that Kentucky, a deep red state, does not ultimately add much for Harris’s effort.

“He is a great governor, I don’t want to take anything away from him. He is a boring piece of dry toast,” said one Democratic strategist. “And if you look at some of his best lines that people hail, in my opinion, they are infinitely more interesting when read than said.”

Cooper, on the other hand, could help Harris out in North Carolina, which has emerged as a real opportunity for Democrats.

“North Carolina is a microcosm of the nation,” said Jess Jollett, executive director of Progress North Carolina, pointing to his successful electoral and policy record in the state.

“If America got to know Cooper, they would fall in love with him the same way North Carolinians have,” she added.

Democrats also point to the fact that Cooper is 67 years old as a plus, pointing to the generational bridge he could bring to the ticket while still being younger than Biden and Trump.

Minnesota’s 60 year-old Gov. Tim Walz (D) has also entered the broader running mate chat this week, with Democrats praising his affable persona, praise among unions, and national experience as chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

“I think Walz is making a strong case,” the Democratic source said.

March For Our Lives co-founder and Gen Z activist David Hogg has been among the governor’s most vocal supporters, helping create a Walz War Room account on Twitter.

Walz’s supporters have shared an interview he did with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki this week in which he referred to the party’s GOP opponents as the “weird people on the other side.”

“They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room. That’s what it comes down to,” Walz said, making Psaki chuckle.

Buttigieg has also been making the rounds on national media, recently appearing on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News.

Keith Edwards, a Democratic digital strategist, noted what he said was a surge in online interest for the mayor-turned-presidential-candidate-turned-Transportation-secretary in recent days.

“The Pete Buttigieg stuff that I post online does far way better than anything else,” Edwards said.

Edwards’s recent videos of Buttigieg on his YouTube page as of Friday have garnered as many as 25,000 views, and 413,000 views.

“There’s real energy behind him. I don’t know if that will correlate to who the vice president picks but I think it’s meaningful,” Edwards said.

While many Democrats are in their prospective running mate corners, many say ultimately Harris can’t go wrong.

“Any of these people would be a great teammate for her,” Reinish said. “The campaign just has to decide between…who has the best chemistry with her, shares the same policies, communicates the partnership and the platform well, but also is this going to be a states-based decision or a vibes decision.”

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