Vice President Kamala Harris will announce her new vice presidential nominee on Monday and then embark on a multi-state tour with her new running mate over the weekend, two sources familiar with the plans said Tuesday.
The high-stakes decision over who will run alongside Harris has been at the centre of the debate ever since she became the Democratic frontrunner for the November 5 election, with US President Joe Biden ending his bid for the White House just a week ago.
Harris will announce her vice presidential pick next week ahead of a tour of states that could swing either Republicans or Democrats in November, a source said.
Harris’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The list of candidates under consideration includes Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
On Monday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer both indicated they had dropped out of the vice presidential race.
Some of the US states that have decided presidential elections in recent years are often referred to as battleground states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“No date has been set for Vice President Harris to announce her running mate,” a campaign spokesperson told Reuters.
Typically, campaigns begin thinking about their vice-presidential nominee after the primary races end in the spring, giving them months to vet candidates and decide which candidate is the best fit personally and politically.
Harris is being forced to select her running mate in a very short time. She has been given an August 7 deadline by the Democratic National Committee, but a decision is likely to come sooner, according to sources.
Eric Holder Jr., the former attorney general who led the vice presidential vetting process for Barack Obama in 2008, is investigating Harris’s selection through his law firm Covington & Burling.
Candidates are informally auditioning for the position, going from place to place on broadcasts and campaign tours to demonstrate what they would bring to Harris’s ticket.
Shapiro, for example, gave a rousing speech about Harris in a suburb of Philadelphia on Monday.
“She’s not only ready, she’s totally ready,” he told the cheering crowd. “And you know who else knows she’s ready? Donald Trump knows she’s ready.”
Walz, the Minnesota governor, is credited with pushing the new criticism leveled by Democrats at Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance — that they are “weird.”
“The fascists are counting on us backing down, but we’re not afraid of weirdos,” Walz said of the Republican ticket on Saturday. “We’re a little scared, but we’re not afraid.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
