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Vice President Kamala Harris’ team is vetting around a half-dozen Democrats across the country to see how they’d fit alongside her in her newly formed presidential campaign.
Despite significant buzz around Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, reports from multiple national media outlets Monday night and Tuesday morning claim that he’s not on the list. But another report from ABC News says he’s one of four being asked to submit materials for the process.
Anywhere from five to seven other Democrats are being vetted to replace Harris on the ticket since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race Sunday and endorsed her for president, according to those reports.
Eric Hyers, Beshear’s top political consultant, did not comment to the Herald-Leader on whether Beshear had received vetting requests from Harris’ team or the recent media reports.
Beshear told LEX18 Tuesday morning that he had yet to receive a request for vetting materials, reiterating a statement he made Monday night.
Shortly after that interview, ABC News posted an update claiming that a source “briefed on the process” said Beshear was one of four being considered.
NBC reported Tuesday that five Democrats — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro; North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper; Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona; Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer; and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — have received vetting materials.
The ABC News report mentioned Beshear alongside Shapiro, Cooper and Kelly.
USA Today and the Wall Street Journal have reported similar lists, adding that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and former Louisiana congressman Cedric Richmond may be under consideration.
According to POLITICO , former attorney general Eric Holder is running the vetting process for Harris’ campaign.
Earlier on Monday, Beshear was included in the top five of the New York Times’ rundown of likely vice presidential contenders.
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The 46-year-old governor also appeared on national network television twice, conducting interviews on MSNBC and CNN that were widely viewed as political theater in the ongoing “veepstakes” around who might join Harris.
In his Monday night interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Beshear said he had talked to Vice President Kamala Harris but had not been asked to submit information so he could be vetted as her running mate. Collins said at the time that Beshear was at the top of Harris’ short list of potential vice presidential running mates.
Jonathan Miller, the former state treasurer who is now a prominent attorney who serves as partner-in-charge of Frost Brown Todd’s Washington, D.C. and Lexington offices, told the Herald-Leader Monday that Beshear was still in the mix.
“I certainly cannot tell you what’s on Kamala Harris’ mind, but I can tell you that people around her, people in D.C., people that really follow this closely, are taking Andy Beshear very seriously,” Miller said.
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