The pros and cons of Harris' VP list — and how contenders would balance the ticket
Here's how potential Democratic running mates could uniquely help Kamala Harris — and the potential drawbacks already getting attention.
The six people who have met with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign as she seeks her own No. 2 includes three northern governors, another one from a ruby-red conservative state, a border-state senator, and a Cabinet secretary with a talent for communication.
Whom Harris will select remains an open question — though we’ll know the answer by Tuesday, when she is set to appear with her running mate for the first time during a battleground-state tour that begins in Philadelphia. And each finalist offers the newly minted Democratic Party leader a particular way to balance the ticket.
NBC News has reported that Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are under strong consideration by Harris and her team. Here’s how each could uniquely help the Democratic ticket — plus the potential drawbacks already getting attention.
No current Democratic governor has won a redder state than Kentucky, where Beshear has won statewide three times.Jon Cherry / Getty Images for ConcordiaUnlike Shapiro and Kelly, Beshear, who represents the red state of Kentucky, wouldn’t offer a boost in one specific swing state.
But as a Democrat who won re-election last year in a state that Trump carried by 26 percentage points in 2020, Beshear, 46, has proven electoral appeal that clearly transcends party lines.
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