Harris nears VP pick decision as North Carolina governor Roy Cooper bows out
Good morning US politics readers. Kamala Harris’s pool of potential running mates is narrowing after two Democratic lawmakers seen as strong contenders in the race, the North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper, and the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, ruled themselves out on Monday.
“This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket,” Cooper said in a statement last night.
As I’ve said from the beginning, she has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins.
Cooper’s withdrawal came hours after Whitmer said she was “not a part of the vetting” process for Harris’s running mate. In an interview with CBS, Whitmer said:
I have communicated with everyone, including the people of Michigan, that I’m going to stay as governor until the end of my term at the end of 2026.
Whitmer added that she expected Harris to announce her pick within the week, which would confirm the Democratic ticket at least two weeks before the Democratic national convention begins on 19 August in Chicago.
Others rumored to be potential running mates include: the Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear; the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz; the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro; and the Arizona senator, Mark Kelly.
Here’s what else we’re watching:
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Kamala Harris will hold a rally this evening in Atlanta featuring a performance by rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Harris will be accompanied by both Georgia senators, the Atlanta mayor and other high-profile Democrats in the state.
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Ronald Rowe Jr, the acting Secret Service director, will testify alongside the deputy FBI director, Paul Abbate, in front of a joint hearing of the Senate judiciary and homeland security and government affairs committees.
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Republican primaries across Arizona today will test whether the far-right cadre focused on election denial still can win among their base, despite major losses in the 2022 primaries.
Key events
Michael Sainato
A Zoom call meant to rally “white dudes” in support of Kamala Harris’s run for the White House raised more than $4m from about 190,000 participants, including numerous celebrities, according to the presumptive Democratic nominee’s campaign.
Guests on the call not only included contenders for Harris’s vice-presidential running mate: the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, and the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg.
They also included the actors Jeff Bridges – famous for portraying the Dude in The Big Lebowski – and Mark Hamill, who secured a $50,000 donation during the call by delivering his renowned Star Wars line: “I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.”
Other celebrities on Monday’s call were Mark Ruffalo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Paul Scheer, Josh Gad, Sean Astin, JJ Abrams and Bradley Whitford. The call lasted over three hours.
Abené Clayton
Among those rumored to become Kamala Harris’s running mate are all white men who govern in swing states that can decide the 2024 election.
They include: Kentucky governor Andy Beshear; Minnesota governor Tim Walz; Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro; and Arizona senator Mark Kelly.
While all four have been asked about their willingness to serve as Harris’s running mate if tapped, all have signaled that they would step up if asked but none have hinted at their engagements with her campaign.
Kelly told reporters on 25 July:
This is not about me. But I’ve always, always said when I’ve had the chance to serve, I think that’s very important to do.
Walz told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday:
Being mentioned is certainly an honor … I trust vice-president Harris’s judgement, she’ll make the best choice she’s going to … But one way or another, she’s going to win in November and that’s gonna benefit everyone … Either way it’s gonna be a win.
During a campaign stop for Harris in Pittsburgh, Shapiro said:
It’s a decision she needs to make who she wants to govern with, who she wants to campaign with, and who can be there to serve alongside her.
And Beshear, who has also been stumping for Harris in red and purple jurisdictions, told the Des Moines Register newspaper:
I’m honored to be considered and, regardless of what happens, I’m going to work every day between now and Election Day to make sure that Kamala Harris is the next president of the United States.
The Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, who is considered to be among the leading contenders for the vice-presidential running mate to Kamala Harris, held a joint rally with the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, in the Philadelphia suburbs on Monday.
“I want a future that is cleaner and greener,” Shapiro told a crowd of about 1,000 supporters.
I want a future with better schools and safer streets, and I want a future full of freedom. I want to look the 47th president of the United States in the eye and say, ‘Madam President.’
Harris took a break from the campaign trail this weekend and held private conversations with several of the candidates, including Shapiro, according to Reuters, citing sources.
Shapiro, who took over the governorship of Pennsylvania just last year, is seen as a rising star in the Democratic party. Joe Biden won the state in his election victory over Donald Trump in 2020.
Harris to announce VP pick in ‘next six, seven days’, says Whitmer
Martin Pengelly
Kamala Harris will announce her running mate “in the next six, seven days”, Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, said on Monday.
Whitmer, an influential Democratic campaign co-chair, told CBS yesterday:
I would imagine we’ll know who her running mate is, and we’ll get ready for the convention.
Whitmer told CBS she expected a “convention of happy warriors” in Chicago next month. She added that she was not under consideration herself.
I have communicated with everyone, including the people of Michigan, that I’m going to stay as governor until the end of my term at the end of 2026.
The North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper, 67, has known Kamala Harris since their overlapping days as state attorneys general and recently campaigned with her.
Cooper ran two successful gubernatorial campaigns in North Carolina, a battleground state, even as Donald Trump carried the state at the presidential level.
Three factors were cited for Cooper’s withdrawal from contention to become Harris’s running mate, Politico reported:
His desire to potentially run for Senate, his age and fears that North Carolina’s divisive Republican lieutenant governor would take over each time Cooper traveled out of state.
“From the get go, he was not a candidate for this,” a source told the outlet.
The North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper, was asked last week by the Harris campaign to be vetted for vice-president but declined to participate, according to a report.
The Cooper team reached out to the Harris campaign a week ago on Monday – a day after Joe Biden left the race and endorsed Kamala Harris as his successor – to say he did not want to be considered, the New York Times reported, citing a source.
The report says that Cooper harbored concerns that Lt Gov Mark Robinson, a conservative Republican who is on the ballot this year to replace him, would mount a legal effort to usurp his executive authority while he was out of state. Cooper did not think Robinson would be successful but thought any such challenge would serve as a chaotic distraction had he been added to the ticket, the report says.
Harris nears VP pick decision as North Carolina governor Roy Cooper bows out
Good morning US politics readers. Kamala Harris’s pool of potential running mates is narrowing after two Democratic lawmakers seen as strong contenders in the race, the North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper, and the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, ruled themselves out on Monday.
“This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket,” Cooper said in a statement last night.
As I’ve said from the beginning, she has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins.
Cooper’s withdrawal came hours after Whitmer said she was “not a part of the vetting” process for Harris’s running mate. In an interview with CBS, Whitmer said:
I have communicated with everyone, including the people of Michigan, that I’m going to stay as governor until the end of my term at the end of 2026.
Whitmer added that she expected Harris to announce her pick within the week, which would confirm the Democratic ticket at least two weeks before the Democratic national convention begins on 19 August in Chicago.
Others rumored to be potential running mates include: the Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear; the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz; the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro; and the Arizona senator, Mark Kelly.
Here’s what else we’re watching:
-
Kamala Harris will hold a rally this evening in Atlanta featuring a performance by rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Harris will be accompanied by both Georgia senators, the Atlanta mayor and other high-profile Democrats in the state.
-
Ronald Rowe Jr, the acting Secret Service director, will testify alongside the deputy FBI director, Paul Abbate, in front of a joint hearing of the Senate judiciary and homeland security and government affairs committees.
-
Republican primaries across Arizona today will test whether the far-right cadre focused on election denial still can win among their base, despite major losses in the 2022 primaries.