The now-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, has sent Vice President vetting materials to six candidates.
According to a report, Kamala Harris has sent VP vetting materials to Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
None of the candidates vetted by Kamala Harris comes as a surprise to many political analysts, but Harris not vetting Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has taken some off guard.
NEWS via AP:
Vice-President Kamala Harris’ campaign has requested vetting materials from potential VPs, including:
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Minnesota Governor Tim… pic.twitter.com/scq7vGpb1j
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 23, 2024
Kamala Harris’ campaign vetting VP candidates – but one major name not on list https://t.co/dCcKMjW7Ov pic.twitter.com/Zf2PNIKUaa
— New York Post (@nypost) July 23, 2024
Here’s what The New York Post reported:
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has asked for vetting materials from a number of potential VP picks this week — with one notable exception.
Harris has requested materials from veep candidates including Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Ken Thomas.
But Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear — who was featured on several preliminary lists of Harris’ potential running mates — told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he had not been asked to submit anything to the Harris camp.
Beshear said Harris personally called him just hours after President Biden announced he was stepping off the ticket — but added that he would only consider the VP job if he felt he could help the people of Kentucky in that position.
“The only reason I’d ever consider something else is if I felt that I could help my people in Kentucky more in a different role or that there was a chance to move past the partisanship, the constant fighting,” he explained.
🚨Report: VP Kamala Harris’s campaign has requests for vetting materials from potential running mates, including JB Pritzker (IL) Gretchen Whitmer (MI) Roy Cooper (NC) Josh Shapiro (PA) Tim Walz (MN) Mark Kelly (AZ), However, Andy Beshear (KY) was not included.
Via: The WSJ pic.twitter.com/XuEOCjaOo8
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) July 23, 2024
Per Above The Law:
The Kamala Harris campaign has a lot to do in a little bit of time. The unusual path that seems to be leading to Harris’s nomination as the Democratic nominee for President means there’s a compressed timeline for all the things that have to be done. There’s fending off wild legal challenges, grassroots organizing, donations — and endorsements — to collect, and of course, selecting a running mate.
To pick her ideal VP — one that she will not immediately regret — the Harris camp has a lot of work to do. According to Reuters, she’s farming out the vetting of vice presidential candidates to former Attorney General Eric Holder and the Biglaw firm where he’s a partner, Covington & Burling.
Presumably Holder won’t pull a Cheney and pick himself, but there are still a number of qualified candidates to be looked at. A number of the names on the reported shortlist are also lawyers, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg are also frequently mentioned as being under consideration for the post.
