Poll: Who should be Harris' VP? Here's what Democratic voters say

Since President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he had decided to abandon his own 2024 presidential bid, support has swelled for Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed to run in his place. As Harris surpasses the number of pledged delegates she’ll need in order to secure the Democratic nomination, attention has also turned to Harris’ running mate.

According to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll , one of Democrats’ top choices is Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has already vowed to stay in her home state .

A pick could happen as early as this week, sources told PBS News’ Laura Barrón-López .

Many of the names floated so far are men and from battleground states.

Harris has tapped former Attorney General Eric Holder to lead her search for vice president, Reuters and other media outlets reported this week .

“It’s as much about consolidating your base as it is finding swing voters,” said Democratic strategist Tory Gavito. With a little over 100 days before Election Day, Gavito said Harris’ campaign and Democrats “need to take all our energy and look outward,” aligning coalitions behind Harris and “[creating] a moral argument for swing voters to join us. The party that does that wins.”

Here’s what Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents in our latest poll said about who they’d like to see on the ticket.

• 21 percent of likely voters said Harris should choose Whitmer to be her running mate.
• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was met with the same enthusiasm – 21 percent – in this survey.
• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was supported by 17 percent of voters.
• Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former astronaut, was backed by 13 percent .
• North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore received single-digit support among likely voters.

Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko said Shapiro and Beshear have generated “a lot of excitement,” but “at the end of the day, it’s her choice about who she’s most comfortable with.”

PBS News, NPR and Marist Poll conducted a survey on July 22 that polled 1,309 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, 1,117 registered voters with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points, 846 registered voters who definitely plan to vote in November’s general election with a margin of error of 4.0 percentage points and 515 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents with a margin of error of 5.2 percentage points.