US Vice President Kamala Harris is on the Democratic forefront to become the party’s presidential race nominee if President Joe Biden stepped down as the presidential candidate.
Harris has earned favour of the Democrats after Biden’s weak debate performance against former president Donald Trump in June.
This has resulted in the Democrats – publicly and privately – pressuring Biden to step down from the race and aiming their support for VP Harris who was named Biden’s running mate for his election campaign.
Polls conducted by The Economist also suggest that 79% of the Democrats would support Harris if she is to replace Biden for the upcoming election in November.
If Harris is elected as the party’s nominee in the wake of Biden stepping down, then it would leave another seat vacant and that is of the running mate.
Following are some candidates Harris can pick as her running mate if Biden steps down and she is nominated for the presidential election candidacy:
Roy Cooper
Roy Cooper is the Governor of North Carolina and has known Harris since they were attorney general of North Carolina and California, respectively.
Cooper has also run on a ticket against Trump and won twice. In 2016, he won by opposing a bill that would have banned transgenders from using public restrooms as per their gender and in 2020, he was reelected on the basis of managing the state during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Josh Shapiro
Governor of Pennsylvania is a popular political figure and strange as well as many Republicans support him. He has handled several crisis during his tenure including the train incident in East Palestine, Ohio which is at the borders of the state he governs; Pennsylvania.
The 1-95 bridge in the State of Pennsylvania collapsed in 2023, Shapiro handled that incident quickly and the bridge was reconstructed immediately.
He has also won against Trump when the former president sued Pennsylvania and challenged the 2020 election results of the state but Shapiro secured legal victory against Trump.
Mark Kelly
Democrat and Senator Mark Kelly is a rare anomaly with him being a former veteran and astronaut.
The senator debuted in politics when his wife and former congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head and had to retire in 2011 due to the injuries posed by the event. That urged Kelly to advocate to end gun violence in the country.
Back in 2020, Biden and Harris turned Arizona blue for the Democratic Party but Kelly won the election which put out Senator John McCain and then two years later, he beat pro-Trumpism Republican candidate Blake Masters.
Kelly is definitely an excellent pick for a running mate but he has a strong hold over Arizona and if the Democrats take him out of the state then they might lose the state.
Tim Walz
Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota is also a veteran. He handled the uproar of the “Black Lives Matter” movement after George Floyd was killed by the police in Minneapolis.
During his tenure, he has strongly worked for abortion rights in the state. Walz has also worked to provide free school meals regardless of the incomes of the students’ parents.
Walz could also help in making important states like Michigan blue for the Democrats as he has been holding down the fort for the party during the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin.
