Examining the Democratic candidates rumored to be on Vice President Kamala Harris’s shortlist for running partners reveals some noteworthy aspects. Their home states are primarily war zones. The majority leans toward the center. Most would include some kind of demographic balance on the ticket.
Instead, most Democrats would be the presidential nominee in an ideal world.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), the front-runners for the position of veep’s deputy, have the potential to flip states now held by former President Donald Trump.
Days before the ticket shake-up, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said, “If you believe that there is unanimity among the folks who want Joe Biden to depart that they would back Kamala — VP Harris — you would be incorrect.” This is where I am. I observe what people say while they converse. Many of them have goals beyond simply toppling the president. Their goal is to get the entire ticket removed.
But Democrats do not live in a perfect world. Though the Trump team disputes that, Harris is probably the only contender who could take complete control of the Biden-Harris campaign funds. In a campaign that is cut short, every tactical choice regarding the allocation of funds becomes more significant, even if the funds are ultimately transferred to other Democratic organizations. Democrats would want to make such choices via their nominee.
Harris is the nation’s first South Asian, black, and female vice president. She would be the second black president and the first in two of those three categories if elected. It would be awkward to push her aside, especially for a white man. It has the potential to split the group.
Rather, Democrats are now in unison. Their relief comes after weeks of worrying about their presidential nominee. It’s likely that some of them feel sorry for President Joe Biden, who gave in to pressure to withdraw from the campaign after 52 years in government service. There is no desire for more discord.
Last but not least, dumping the entire ticket would leave Democrats with neither one nor two unhappy and perhaps ineffective incumbents. There was a possibility that Harris could have remained the vice presidential nominee before she defeated the majority of Democratic delegates for the top spot.
Harris has brought fresh vitality to the campaign and raised a substantial sum of money. As a result, Democrats are following suit.
However, it appears that Kelly and Shapiro, along with governors Roy Cooper (D-NC), Tim Walz (D-MN), Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), and J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), received screening papers for the vice presidential race. Speculation also surrounds Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY), who may be the party’s least liberal governor and emerged victorious against a Trump-backed Republican in a red state last year.
You would have to assume that Democrats would consider some of these names for president if they were creating a ticket from scratch as if they had just fallen from a coconut tree.
This is especially true in an election where they are not subject to the choices of their primary voters—if not the past—being said. These are the kinds of things that one may find in a room full of smoke.
After going through the agonizing process of splitting their presidential ticket and opening up the field to anyone (at least theoretically), shouldn’t Democrats aim to install a candidate who is likely to win rather than merely one who can win? We questioned Jason Willick, a Washington Post columnist.
Harris wants to capitalize on these Democrats’ popularity in their home states without taking center stage. Regaining control of North Carolina for the Democrats or eliminating Arizona, Pennsylvania, or Michigan for Trump would be a significant improvement over the Biden electoral map.
In particular, Harris would want to reach out to the networks of Democratic supporters, whose desire to remain out of the campaign and back her is encouraging and concerning at the same time. The former is beneficial as it enables her to secure the nomination, while the latter implies that they might consider 2028 to be a more favorable year. She wants to give the Democratic ticket celebrity power on par with the president’s.
President Trump must inform voters who will make the final decisions. There is no guarantee that the Democratic choice for vice president will rise quickly now that they have chosen a younger candidate. Should Harris emerge victorious, neither Kelly nor Shapiro—your personal favorite—will likely be eligible for the presidency until 2032.
In order to guarantee that Harris controls the legacy of the present government and that Biden essentially stays her running partner, the Trump campaign must make every effort.
It will be Shapiro’s, Kelly’s, or Harris’s choice to undermine that plan.
