Vice President Kamala Harris is set to hold the first campaign rally with her pick for vice president in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Harris and the vice presidential nominee will then embark on a four-day tour of battleground states. Campaign stops are scheduled in western Wisconsin, Detroit, Raleigh, Savannah, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
The Harris campaign has been tight-lipped about who her running mate pick is and dismissed any speculation, saying, “Any reporting is premature.”
But the rally’s location suggests Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro might be moving up on Harris’ shortlist. Voters in his swing state supported Biden in 2020 after turning red for former President Trump in 2016.
CNBC reported Thursday the governor canceled at least two fundraisers in the Hamptons in New York that were planned “several weeks ago,” according to Shapiro’s office. This move raised some eyebrows.
If Harris picks Shapiro, he would be the second Jewish vice presidential nominee, following Joe Lieberman’s failed campaign bid in 2000 alongside Al Gore.
But, as the Deseret News reported, Shapiro isn’t popular among all Democrats, some of whom have criticized his handling of sexual harassment claims in his office. Others have targeted his Jewish faith and condemned his support for Israel.
Nearly 50 progressives sent a letter to Harris, saying, “The correct vice presidential candidate can build on the amazing momentum you have established or set us back, especially among hard-to-reach, young, and disenfranchised voters,” as The Hill reported.
Besides Shapiro, here is who the Harris campaign is looking at for VP
The letter made the case for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. The two governors are “persuasive advocates for core Democratic values and will energize voters across America without marginalizing any of the communities that we must engage in order to win the electoral college,” progressives said.
Since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s financial rules impose restrictions on contributions to campaigns that include a sitting governor on the ticket, the Harris campaign asked Wall Street to write their donation checks early, according to Axios.
If the reporting is accurate, it could narrow the running mate picks to Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and exclude Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. All of these potential picks have met with Harris’ vetting team, two sources close to the campaign told NBC’s Julie Tsirkin.
Harris’ vetting team is led by Eric Holder Jr., the former attorney general who served on former President Barack Obama’s vice presidential selection committee in 2008.
Harris is up against the August 7 deadline to announce her pick, as Democratic National Committee chairman Jamie Harrison said Monday.
“I want to assure you that we are committed to an open and fair nominating process,” Harrison told reporters on a conference call. “The work ahead may be unprecedented, but we are prepared to undertake a transparent, swift and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party.”