Who Could Be Kamala Harris’ Vice President? 5 Candidates

As speculation about President Joe Biden‘s 2024 candidacy swirls, some believe Vice President Kamala Harris would become the Democratic nominee. But who could take her place? An expert told Newsweek his thoughts on the candidates.

Biden has faced growing pressure in the aftermath of last month’s debate to step aside and let another Democrat take his place. Top Democrats, like kingmaker and Representative Jim Clyburn, have already signaled that they’d back Harris if Biden leaves the race and polls show that most Democratic voters support Harris at the top of the ticket.

An Economist/YouGov survey conducted this week found that 79 percent would support Harris as the Democratic nominee if Biden were to withdraw from the race. Harris would also benefit from the $91 million war chest that the Biden-Harris campaign has raised.

While she may be the obvious choice to replace Biden, Harris would have to pick her own running mate if she were to become the nominee.

“Truthfully, they all have something to offer,” Audrey Haynes, a politics professor at the University of Georgia, told Newsweek of the contenders. “The Democratic Party has a strong bench and the choice will depend on who is at the top of the ticket. Who will balance the ticket, provide some electoral benefit (perhaps move a swing state) or perhaps expand a voter bloc that may have voters to expand vote margins in close races.”

“At this juncture, a governor, who is popular, and has a strong economic record in their state, would be the most valuable foil for competing with the Trump Vance ticket,” Haynes said. “Neither of whom have the type of executive experience that governors earn over time.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro

A rising Democratic star, Josh Shapiro is often floated as a possible running mate for Harris. He governs a major battleground state and could help Harris make inroads among voters in the Keystone State.

Shapiro, who comfortably beat Trump-backed Doug Mastriano in 2022, is wildly popular in his home state and enjoys support from both Democrats and Republicans. The only governor with a divided state legislature, Shapiro was able to reach a bipartisan agreement just last week. He’s also been applauded for his handling of major infrastructure crises, including the collapse of the I-95 bridge last year and the train derailment in Ohio, which borders Pennsylvania.

Of all the potential VP contenders, Shapiro might be among the sharpest of the group because his presence could help Democrats secure Pennsylvania, Jeffrey Kraus, a politics professor at Wagner College, told Newsweek.

“Shapiro has never lost an election and is closer to the center of the Democratic Party,” Kraus said.

Michael Gordon, a Democratic strategist and principal at Group Gordon, also said Shapiro would have “the biggest impact on the outcome” of the 2024 election.

“He’s a popular governor of a swing state with a lot of electoral votes. He’s also a young rising star who could inspire voters in other swing states,” Gordon told Newsweek.

But with only two years under his belt, experts think that Shapiro would be wise to continue working for voters in Pennsylvania, especially if he has plans to run for the commander-in-chief position himself later down the line.

“It is hard for me to imagine that Josh Shapiro would want to be anyone’s running mate,” Berwood Yost, Director of the Floyd Institute for Public Policy and Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, told PoliticsPA.com. “He would undoubtedly be a great choice given that he is a popular governor in one of the key states Democrats must carry in 2024, but what benefit would there be for him to take the position?”

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper

Roy Cooper’s governorship has been a sign of hope for Democrats in the Tar Heel state.

While the party hasn’t won a presidential election in the state since 2008, Cooper was elected in 2016 and 2020 despite former President Donald Trump‘s Electoral College victories in both elections. Cooper won in 2016 mostly in opposition to a bill banning transgender people from public restrooms of their gender. In 2020, he was reelected for his handling of the pandemic and natural disasters in the state.

Kraus said Cooper might help attract North Carolina voters to the ticket, but because the governor doesn’t have a national profile, he said, “I don’t know what else he might bring to the ticket besides putting North Carolina in play.”

“Roy Cooper can fit the bill too as a popular governor of a swing state,” Gordon said. “He is a safe choice but may not be as inspiring nationally as Shapiro.”

Cooper is also close to Harris, having served as the attorney general in North Carolina at the same time Harris held the position in California. He’s commended her for being able to relate to women voters and appeared alongside her at events in his home state, calling her a “fighter.”

Harris herself has said of Cooper, “I’ve known him for almost two decades, and he is an extraordinary leader.”

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Cooper was “an emerging favorite” for Harris.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer’s name has long been floated as a possible presidential candidate and a Harris-Whitmer ticket would mark the first all-women ticket in history.

“Whether the Democrats would run a ticket with two female candidates is an open question,” Kraus said.

Whitmer’s position in Michigan could help the Democratic Party win back voters who abandoned the party in response to Biden’s response to the Israel-Hamas war.

The state, which is home to more than 200,000 registered voters who are Muslim and 300,000 people who claim ancestry from the Middle East and North Africa, has spelled trouble for Biden in recent months. Despite winning Michigan by 154,000 votes in 2020, Biden is now trailing behind Trump by 1.6 percentage points, according to RealClearPolling averages.

Michigan also has a decadeslong streak of voting for the winning presidential candidate. The state has not voted for a losing candidate since 2004.

Whitmer, who easily won reelection in 2022 and brought a Democratic trifecta with her, has expressed her support for Harris. On Tuesday, she said that she would be “eager” to support Harris as the nominee if Biden were to exit the race.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear

Andy Beshear impressed many Democrats when he won a second term in the conservative state last year.

“Andy Beshear is a rising star, but Harris won’t win Kentucky, even with him on the ticket,” Gordon said.

While Kentucky is not seen as a likely pickup in November and Beshear’s departure to the White House would leave the state without any Democrats, he’s one of the most popular and youngest governors in the country.

A Morning Consult poll conducted last year found that Beshear is tied with Hawaii Governor Josh Green as the most popular Democratic governor among Trump voters. He is also the most popular Democratic governor among Biden voters. The survey showed that Beshear has the highest net approval rating of any Democratic governor in a red state, with overall approval at 60 percent.

Beshear told reporters last week that he had concerns about Biden’s candidacy but that he wasn’t calling for the president to step aside.

At the press conference, he signaled that he would be open to leaving his role for one that helps “the Commonwealth even more” but said that he wasn’t planning to and that his current role is “more than enough for me.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom

Newsom has become one of the most nationally recognizable figures within the Democratic Party.

He drew speculations about his White House ambitions last year when he debated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, prompting some to ask what Newsom was doing facing off against a Republican presidential candidate when he wasn’t in the 2024 race.

Billed as a red state versus blue state debate, the two governors clashed over taxes, immigration, crime, guns, abortion and the pandemic in a 90-minute event moderated by Fox News. Newsom repeatedly defended Biden as DeSantis argued that the president’s mental state was in decline.

“We have one thing in common, neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024,” Newsom said during the debate.

But Newsom as VP could cause problems for Harris since both of them are from California, similar to how observers questioned if Trump picking Senator Marco Rubio could present the same constitutional question since both Republicans were from Florida.

“The reality is that none of these governors really would make a difference to a Harris-led ticket,” Kraus said. “For that matter, Harris might not be the best candidate to lead the ticket, although it seems that will be the only scenario if Biden (and this is not a sure thing) withdraws.”

“At best, the Democrats should focus on retaining the Senate and trying to retake the House. Unless something else happens, Trump seems likely to prevail,” he said.