Vice President Kamala Harris has a difficult decision in front of her. Now that she has secured enough delegates to become the Democrats’ nominee for president, she has to choose her running mate.
The Harris campaign has reportedly requested vetting materials from North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. There are also reports that U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker are under consideration.
Names like Tim Walz and Roy Cooper strike me as uninspired picks out of the gate. Walz, 60 , has immense baggage from his time presiding over the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots that ravaged Minnesota. Cooper, 67 , simply falls victim to his own age, which Democrats should seek to avoid in contrast with JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee who turns 40 next Friday .
Harris' campaign officials seem to be learning from their opponent's mistake and is genuinely pursuing a VP choice that will expand the coalition behind them, unlike Donald Trump's decision to select a MAGA protégé in Vance .
I’m a conservative who doesn’t plan on voting for Trump in November. However, if I were, some of these names would concern me a lot more than others. One in particular should worry Trump and conservatives hoping to win back the White House.
Republicans can beat Harris on policy: Biden is out, but Trump, GOP won't have to change their message. Harris isn't much better.
Donald Trump should hope Kamala Harris picks one of these people for her vice presidential candidate
- J.B. Pritzker : While I’m a bit biased as a former Illinois resident (a conservative one at that), my view is that Pritzker is a generic, wealthy politician who has overseen high unemployment , higher taxes and some of the most totalitarian COVID-19 policies in the nation. He adds no benefit of being beloved in a swing state and is vulnerable on all the issues I outlined above, as well as many more. Republicans would likely dismantle Pritzker on his record as governor, and he has few pros to make up for that fact. They should want Harris to pick him.
- Pete Buttigieg : He would be a remarkably weak choice. Many argue that his being a gay person is the reason why, but I actually don’t see that as a major difference-maker for Democratic voters anymore. Instead, I think his stint as a failed mayor of South Bend, Indiana, or going on paternity leave amid a nationwide supply chain crisis he had responsibility for gives Republicans very real talking points. Warranted or not, his job following the 2020 primary cycle was to remain in the background, and he failed at doing so. Trump and other conservatives would have plenty of material to go after him with.
Conservatives should worry about these two options
- Andy Beshear : The governor of Kentucky could pose some unique issues for the Trump campaign if he were selected. He was able to secure reelection last year in a state that Trump won by more than 20 points in 2020, even as conservatives won up and down the ballot. He maintains high approval , with more than two-thirds of Kentuckians having a favorable view of him. Beshear is only less of a threat to conservatives because of a couple of drawbacks. He’s not from a swing state, it's unclear how he polls outside of Kentucky (where his family is a political dynasty ) and he comes from what has been described as a “silver spoon” upbringing. None of this contrasts well with Vance, who is a political outsider who “bootstrapped” his way into the spotlight and is a senator in Ohio, a swing state.
- Mark Kelly : This is an interesting choice for Democrats. He entered politics very recently, winning his Senate seat from Arizona in 2020. He markets gun control as one of his top issues, as well as expanding abortion access following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. While I obviously disagree with his politics, I can’t deny that Kelly, a badass astronaut and family man, is a really cool dude. He served as a Navy pilot during Operation Desert Storm and then became an astronaut, flying missions to the International Space Station. He stayed with NASA for 15 years before retiring to care for his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011 .
The Trump campaign should be afraid of Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro
Josh Shapiro is the only elite choice Democrats have, and he is almost too perfect of a choice.
Though he has only served as governor of Pennsylvania for a little over a year, he is a popular governor of an essentially must-win state for Democrats. He ran his campaign for governor as a moderate, and his actions as governor have done nothing to refute that. He is seemingly as uncontroversial as anyone in this race.
Who will Harris pick for VP? Why Shapiro and Whitmer aren't the answers.
One important consideration is his pro-Israel stance, which some progressives will view as a betrayal of the campaign. However, more than 70% of American Jews identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party , and 89% have a favorable view of the Israeli people .
Not alienating this population is an important consideration for Democrats, and balancing Harris’ questionable stances on the matter is the right path forward for their party.
The biggest strength Shapiro has, besides his favorability in Pennsylvania , is how he stacks up against Vance. The governor is smart and articulate and would fare well in a debate with the GOP vice presidential nominee. Shapiro also has far more experience in politics, allowing himself to contrast against Vance in a unique way.
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Frankly, I’m not sure why Shapiro would accept the position. A loss on this ticket would somewhat tarnish his political stock for 2028, an election in which he would have a fair chance at the Democratic nomination for president if he were to pursue it. However, if willing, he is the best choice that Democrats have now.
The Democratic Party really only has three choices, and each would pose his own unique challenges for Donald Trump. If I were the Republican presidential nominee, however, I would dread the pick of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and hope he chooses to save his chances for 2028.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.
You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page , on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Beshear, Kelly, Shapiro? GOP should fear this Harris VP option
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