As Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly considers Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) as a vice presidential candidate, the labor union enthusiast said his focus is on using his Senate leadership roles to galvanize the Democratic coalition ahead of November.
Peters commented on the vice presidential speculation during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. On Tuesday, MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire called the senator’s answer a “dodge” as Peters laughed.
“I respect … vice president’s process,” Peters told Lemire. “She’s looking for a running mate now. She’s got a lot of wonderful folks that she’s looking at, and she’s gonna make a decision that’s right for her and right for the country.”
Peters, chairman of the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told MSNBC that selecting a running mate is an “intensely personal decision and — I wanna respect that process.”
The swing-state senator is also the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a powerful role that oversees the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm. Peters has been credited for helping his party retain battleground seats during the 2022 midterm elections, ensuring the Left avoided a red wave.
Peters preferred to focus on using his position at the DSCC to stave off Republican gains this election cycle on Tuesday.
“Most all of our Senate races are key battlegrounds,” Peters said, adding that the DSCC would “work closely with the presidential campaign” in a “battle for the heart and soul of this country.”
The Democratic senator’s remarks come after Axios reported Peters being chosen as Harris’s running mate could encourage the United Auto Workers, a powerful labor union, to endorse the presumptive Democratic nominee. Labor unions are a vital component of the Democratic coalition. With just 98 days until the election, the DSCC is working to nail down support from union employees across battleground states.
During an MSNBC interview posted last week to his X account, Peters criticized former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), for doing "nothing for unions.”
“He is not about working people, he has never lifted his finger in any way to help people in unions and unions are absolutely essential for the American middle class,” Peters said as he reiterated the importance union workers will play in voting in the next president. “And Democrats, we’ve got to continue to make that case and understand that’s the way we win Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania is making sure union voters know who’s on their side and Kamala Harris is on their side."
Trump has made his own push for union workers' votes. During the Republican National Convention earlier this month, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien shocked many Democrats when he spoke at the GOP gathering. While the leader of one of the largest labor unions in the country didn't endorse Trump, O'Brien attracted backlash from leftists, including John Palmer, a Teamsters vice president at-large from Local 657 in San Antonio, Texas.
"It is unconscionable for any Labor leader to lend an air of legitimacy to a candidate and a political party, neither of which can be said to have done, or can be expected to do, anything to improve the lives of the workers we are pledged to represent," Palmer wrote ahead of O'Brien's speech to the RNC.
Rumors that labor unions are leading “a quiet push” to recruit Peters to run as Harris’s running mate has sparked backlash from top Republicans.
“Gary Peters knows Democrats are about to lose the Senate majority, so now he’s trying to quit on his members and become Kamala Harris’s vice president,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Philip Letsou told the Washington Examiner. “Kamala Harris is the most far-left presidential nominee in American history and is already absolutely toxic for down-ballot Democrats.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who hails from another battleground state and has been floated as a top vice presidential contender said he supported Peters as Harris’s No. 2.
“Absolutely,” Kelly said on Monday when asked if he would support Peters as a potential vice president. “Gary is a great guy. He’s done a great job. He’s helped us win the majority.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0