Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

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, considered several prominent individuals before selecting Governor

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz ( ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician and retired educator. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Walz ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

as her running mate on August 6. Harris and Walz were certified as the official nominees that evening by

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

secretary Jason Rae. Walz is the first sitting Democratic governor to be picked as a vice presidential nominee since

Charles W. Bryan Charles Wayland Bryan (February 10, 1867 – March 4, 1945) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 20th and 23rd Governor of Nebraska, and Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, and was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1924. ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

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and if elected, would be the third vice president from Minnesota after

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

and

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

. After formally accepting their nomination during the

2024 Democratic National Convention The 2024 Democratic National Convention is an upcoming event in which delegates of the United States Democratic Party will choose the party's nominees for president and vice president for the 2024 United States presidential election. Site sele ...

, the Harris–Walz ticket face the Trump–Vance ticket in the general election.

Background

During Joe Biden's re-election campaign, Kamala Harris was presumed the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee for a second term as

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

. Biden competed in the Democratic presidential primaries facing only token opposition and became the presumptive nominee on March 12. However, amidst concerns about his age and ability to serve as president, Biden withdrew from the election on July 21, and endorsed Harris to replace him as the presidential nominee. Harris launched her own presidential campaign that same day and became the presumptive nominee the following day.

Selection process

Harris secured enough delegate support to become the presumptive nominee on July22. Her campaign's vetting process for potential running mates was conducted by Eric Holder, the former

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

under President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, along with his law firm

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as th ...

and

Dana Remus Dana Ann Remus is an American lawyer who served as White House counsel for U.S. President Joe Biden from January 2021 to July 2022. Prior to her appointment as White House counsel, Remus was general counsel for Joe Biden's 2020 presidential cam ...

, formerly President Biden's

White House counsel The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...

. Harris was the only qualified candidate, with a virtual roll call vote taking place from August 1 until August 5. On August 2, ''

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'' reported that former

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs is currently a top-10 ranking position in the U.S. Department of State that is intended to help ensure that public diplomacy is practiced in combination with public affairs and traditiona ...

Elizabeth M. Allen would lead Harris's running mate team and begin serving as their chief of staff the following day. The Harris campaign conducted polling and focus groups on the candidates and found that all three finalists could help her win.

Announcement

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' reported on July 30 that Harris planned to hold a rally with her running mate choice in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on August 6, raising speculation that the pick was the

governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Josh Shapiro; however, a campaign aide for Harris cautioned against causing speculation behind Philadelphia being chosen as the venue for the rally. ''

'' reported that Harris was expected to make an announcement on her running mate choice hours before the Philadelphia rally. On the morning of August 6, awaiting Harris's decision, the

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

said it was ready to swiftly provide security to whomever the running mate was. Later on August 6, Harris chose Walz.

Vetting process and developments

An official reported to

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

on July23 that Kelly and Shapiro were the leading candidates, while another source told '' Talking Points Memo'' the following day that

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...

was an additional top choice. On July23, the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' reported that Cooper, Kelly, and Shapiro had become the frontrunners, with donors preferring Cooper or Shapiro and "Hollywood Democrats" backing Kelly. On July24, ''

'' reported that Walz was also "under serious consideration". On July26, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' reported that Cooper, Kelly and Shapiro were at the top of Harris's shortlist according to people close to the campaign.

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

also reported that the three frontrunners were reportedly at the top of a shortening list.

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, however, reported on July27 that Kelly, Shapiro, and Walz were the three finalists. On July 28, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' reported Andy Beshear as "one of the most prominent potential running mates" being vetted by the Harris campaign. On July 29,

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

reported that Transportation Secretary

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transp ...

was on the shortlist as Harris's running mate. On July 29, ''The New York Times'' reported Cooper had voluntarily withdrawn his name from consideration. , Andy Beshear,

Mark Kelly Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former astronaut, and United States Navy captain who has served as the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was electe ...

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the governor-elect of Pennsylvania. Raised in Montgomery ...

, and

were reported to be on Harris's shortlist by various media outlets. On July 30, '' The Hill'' reported that several progressive leaders and political groups urged Harris to pick Beshear or Walz as her running mate over Shapiro as an attempt to consolidate key voting groups and the Democratic base. ''

'' reported on July 30 that Harris planned on interviewing potential running mates in the following days. ''The Hill'' also reported on July 30 that while Harris had not yet finalized her running mate choice, she planned on campaigning with her eventual choice in several battleground states the following week. That same day,

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

reported that Harris will start interviewing her shortlist candidates as early as the next day, with Beshear, Buttigieg, Kelly, Shapiro and Walz being cited as the campaign's 'top tier' list. However, a report from

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on the same day cited Kelly, Shapiro and Walz as "top contenders" while people close to the selection process stated that Beshear and Buttigieg were not top contenders despite being "in conversation". On August 1,

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

reported that the Harris campaign's vetting team had formally met with six finalists, Beshear, Buttigieg, Kelly, Shapiro, Walz, and

Illinois Governor The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

J. B. Pritzker. Pritzker had previously denied receiving vetting materials in July; however, towards the end of the month it was reported he had undergone two vetting interviews. That same day, Bloomberg News and ''Politico'' reported that Harris's vetting team had met privately with Kelly and Shapiro. ''

'' reported that day that the vetting process, led by Eric Holder, was completed. That same report found that out of the six finalists, Shapiro, Kelly and Walz were considered to be top contenders while acknowledging that Beshear, Buttigieg and Pritzker were part of the six finalists that Harris had narrowed down to. On August 4, Harris interviewed Shapiro, Kelly, and Walz in person at the

Number One Observatory Circle Number One Observatory Circle is the official residence of the vice president of the United States. Located on the northeast grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., the house was built in 1893 for the observatory superintenden ...

, as finalists. Following this, on August 5, it was reported the selection narrowed down to Walz and Shapiro. However, Harris didn't decide on August 5, deciding to "sleep on it" and inform her running mate in the morning. On August 6, Harris chose Walz.

Finalists

On August 4, ''

'' reported that the two finalists were Walz and Shapiro. File:Governor Tim Walz at Bemidji Steel (cropped).jpg, File:Governor Shapiro (cropped).jpg, alt=,

Shortlist

On August 1,

and ''

'' reported that the final shortlist included Andy Beshear,

, J. B. Pritzker,

and

. File:Andy Beshear 2024 (cropped).jpg, alt=Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky (2019–present), File:Pete Buttigieg official photo (cropped).jpg, alt=Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg from Michigan (2021–present)(did not receive vetting materials), File:Mark Kelly, Official Portrait 117th (cropped).jpg, alt=Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona (2020–present), File:J.B. Pritzker April 2023.jpg,

Formally vetted

The following candidates either reportedly received vetting materials from the Harris campaign on July23, 2024, or were reportedly being considered. Despite being listed as a serious contender, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer stated on July 29 that she never received any vetting materials and declined to be considered, preferring to serve the remainder of her term. File:Roy Cooper in November 2023 (cropped).jpg, alt=Roy Cooper, File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg, File:Gina Raimondo (cropped 2).jpg, File:Cedric Richmond 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, alt=,

Media speculation on possible candidates

The following were individuals speculated to be in consideration as the running mate of the new presidential nominee, but were not reported to have been vetted or otherwise seriously considered.

Members of Congress

File:Amy Klobuchar 2019 (cropped).jpg, File:Sen Chris Murphy in 2023.jpg, File:Gary Peters official photo 115th congress (cropped).jpg, File:Jamie Raskin Official Portrait 2019 (cropped).jpg, File:Raphael Warnock for Senate (cropped).jpg,

Governors

File:Tony Evers (cropped).jpg, alt=, File:Governor Phil Murphy 2023 (cropped).jpg, alt=Phil Murphy from New Jersey (2018–present), File:Jared Polis in Taiwan (3x4).jpg, alt=Jared Polis from Colorado (2019–present), File:Tom Wolf in 2023.jpg, alt=Tom Wolf from Pennsylvania (2015–2023),

Declined to be considered

The following were noted by media as potential running mates, but either publicly or privately withdrew their names from consideration. Some media outlets said that Whitmer was being vetted, but she denied this and declined to be considered. File:Senator Manchin (cropped 2).jpg, File:Chancellor McRaven February 2017 (32226902794) (cropped).jpg, File:Wes Moore Official Governor Portrait (9x12).jpg, , alt=Governor Wes Moore from Maryland (2023–present) File:Newsom April 2024 (cropped2).jpg, , alt=Governor Gavin Newsom from California (2019–present) File:8R4A9872 (53367444225) (Whitmer1).jpg,

Analysis

The selection was described by ''The New York Times'' as a

proxy war A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...

between progressive and moderate Democrats. Progressive activists accused Shapiro and Kelly of being too conservative, specifically on labor issues and the

Israel–Hamas war An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. On that day, Palestinian militant groups launched 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, a surp ...

, therefore backing Walz. Moderates defended Shapiro, accusing progressives of antisemitism in their attacks. Both sides seemingly accepted Beshear. An opinion piece in ''USA Today'' said that not picking Shapiro would signal support for a progressive platform, and one in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said picking Shapiro would signal moderation.

Endorsements

Opinion polling

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, 2024 2024 in American politics Kamala Harris Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Pete Buttigieg Amy Klobuchar Gavin Newsom Josh Shapiro Gretchen Whitmer