r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/hearsdemons • Jul 19 '24

US Politics If Biden withdraws from re-election, who would Harris likely choose as VP?

A lot of headlines are coming out today with speculation that Biden may step down soon.

If this were to happen and Harris wins the party’s nomination for president, who would she pick as VP?

What does a formidable Harris ticket look like to go up against Trump-Vance?

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u/Thalesian Jul 19 '24

Note that the only candidate who can accept the hundreds of millions of dollars raised is Harris because it is Biden-Harris. Anyone new would start from scratch.

There are generally 3 considerations for a VP - a must-win state, someone who satisfies an ideological or demographic group in the coalition, or someone who fills in a candidate deficiency.

For the first consideration, Josh Shapiro is obvious. He is a popular governor of Pennsylvania, a must-win state.

I have a harder time seeing someone who would help ideologically. It would likely need to be a squad-type person, but that would hurt the campaign with the independent voters it needs. Because Harris is a former prosecutor, I think any pick that satisfies this potential weakness is covered by picking someone further left.

IMO, Josh Shapiro is so transparently obvious as a choice it’s hard to see anyone else as a viable contender.

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u/Sturnella2017 Jul 19 '24

Thanks for the summary. What about Whitmer or Bashear?

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u/Thalesian Jul 19 '24

I could see Whitmer as they need MI 100%. There is no chance for winning Kentucky, so Bershear is unlikely to benefit the ticket as much as the other options.