Suddenly, it’s all about who will make the best running mate for Kamala Harris.
Since the moment Joe Biden announced that he would “stand down” as the Democratic Presidential Candidate for 2024—and within minutes, endorsed incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him at the top of the ticket—a power hitters’ line-up of strong potential running mates has emerged from the Democrats deep bench of seasoned public officials.
I’ve written several columns about outstanding Vice-Presidential possibilities to run with Harris, including Pennsylvania’s Governor Josh Shapiro (https://open.substack.com/pub/villano/p/harrisshapiro-ticket-will-sweep-the?r=cveu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web), and Arizona’s Senator Mark Kelly (https://open.substack.com/pub/villano/p/are-gabby-and-the-astronaut-ready?r=cveu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web).
While Shapiro and Kelly have long been my two leading choices, there are other names which have surfaced that compel comparison. After listing, and briefly commenting on each potential VP candidate—and coming off my exact prediction on which date Biden would withdraw from the race—I’ll make my recommendation for which candidate, in my judgement, will bring the most to the Democratic 2024 ticket.
I’m saving Kelly and Shapiro for the final few paragraphs, and ranking the others in alphabetical order:
1. Michael Bennet, Age 60, Colorado, (10 electoral votes): In his third term as Senator from Colorado, Bennet brings experience and ideological balance, but little else. Bennet is a good debater, and well-spoken on the issues, but the Dems can win Colorado without him on the ticket, and he wouldn’t have coattails in any other state;
2. Andy Beshear, Age 46, Kentucky (8 electoral votes): In his first-term as Governor in a deep Red state, Beshear won a commanding victory over a hand-picked candidate of Mitch McConnell’s, and was uncompromising on the issue of Reproductive Rights. In addition to his youth, and record of winning in a heavily Republican Southern State, Beshear would bring ideological and regional balance to the national Democratic ticket. While it’s unlikely he could deliver Kentucky’s 8 electoral votes for the Democrats, his presence on the ticket could appeal to independent voters across the South, and perhaps help Democrats do better in surrounding states. Beshear would also puncture J.D. Vance’s phony aggrandizing of his “Hillbilly” Kentucky roots.
3. Cory Booker, Age 55, New Jersey (14 electoral votes): Running for re-election to his third term, Booker is an extraordinarily gifted and eloquent campaigner. However, the Democrats don’t need Booker on the ticket to carry New Jersey, even though he could galvanize more young voters, and black voters to come to the polls nationwide. It’s important to remember that past DNC Chair Donna Brazile considered putting Cory Booker on a national ticket with Joe Biden in 2016, when Hillary Clinton was physically—and politically— faltering in her campaign, as a way to diversify and balance the Democratic ticket. While a large number of voters would support a national ticket with two highly qualified Black candidates, there are other candidates who would deepen and broaden the strength of the Harris campaign.
4. Pete Buttigieg, Age 42, Indiana, (11 electoral votes): As Biden’s Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg has been given an extraordinary portfolio of Infrastructure Projects to bring to fruition. Brilliant and articulate, Buttigieg is a terrific advocate, and would bring his competence, communications skills, and youth—but little else—to a ticket headed by Kamala Harris, who has built a solid constituency herself among the nation’s LGBTQ community, and among younger voters. Additionally, Buttigieg has never won a statewide campaign, and could not be counted upon to deliver any Midwestern states, despite his Indiana roots.
5. Roy Cooper, Age 67, North Carolina (16 electoral votes): Cooper served at North Carolina’s Attorney General during the same time period Harris served as California’s AG, and went on to serve two terms as North Carolina’s Governor. While he was elected repeatedly in a state which National Democrats only won once (Obama, 2008), Cooper’s coattails didn’t even extend to Democrats running for US Senate or Members of Congress from his own state. A lackluster and boring candidate, Cooper’s presence on the Democratic National ticket wouldn’t necessarily deliver North Carolina’s 16-electoral votes, as much, perhaps, as the present candidacy for NC Governor of a far-right extreme MAGA candidate, Mark Robinson, will drive voters into the Democratic camp. Like Beshear, Cooper would offer ideological and regional balance, but he’s unlikely to have any coattails at all, and, at 67 years old, is 21 years older than Beshear.
6. Wes Moore, Age 45, Maryland (10 electoral votes): Elected Governor of Maryland in 2022, Moore is a “rising star” in the Democratic Party, based upon his intelligence, eloquence, military service, and leadership of the Robin Hood Foundation. However, Maryland is a dependably Democratic state, so Moore’s presence on a Harris ticket adds little during this election cycle.
7. JB Pritzker, Age 59, Illinois (19 electoral votes): In his second term as the Governor of Illinois, Pritzker has easily beaten his GOP opponents, and been a powerful advocate for Reproductive Rights, the right to read books of choice, and fiscal responsibility. One of the wealthiest public officials in the nation with a net worth of $3.6 billion, Pritzker would bring regional and administrative diversity to the Democratic ticket, but little else. Yet, again, the National Dems don’t need Pritzker on the ticket to carry Illinois, and his appeal beyond his own Stateline is questionable.
8. Gretchen Whitmer, Age 52, Michigan (15 electoral votes): Despite her relative youth, Whitmer has had a remarkable public career, serving 15 yeas in the Michigan State Legislature, before being elected Governor for the first time in 2018. During Whitmer’s two-term tenure as Governor she has transformed Michigan into a Democratic stronghold for Statewide elections. Whitmer first came to national attention when she revealed she had been sexually assaulted. She was also the target of an Extreme Right Wing Militia Group’s kidnapping plot, thwarted by the FBI. Brilliant, eloquent, courageous and unflappable, Whitmer will help the Democrats carry Michigan and perhaps Wisconsin, whether she is on the Harris ticket or not. While there are large numbers of voters who would support a national ticket headed by two women, Whitmer, a progressive like Harris, would be a strong running mate if their weren’t other even stronger potential candidates like Josh Shapiro and Mark Kelly, who bring more ideological diversity and a broader appeal to independents.
9. Josh Shapiro, Age 51, Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes): The newly elected Governor (2022) and twice-elected State’s Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro would be an incredibly strong running mate for Kamala Harris, as I’ve written before (see earlier link). Shapiro won his gubernatorial race by nearly 20 points over a well-funded fanatical right wing Christian Nationalist who pushed an extremist agenda, not unlike the GOP’s Project 2025. In that campaign, Shapiro’s strong Jewish faith, his impeccable career in enforcing the law, his solid commitment to Reproductive Rights and fundamental human rights, and his steady competence, contributed to his landslide victory. Shapiro, a consummate public servant with great integrity, would help Harris in key swing states with independent voters who backed him in large numbers in Pennsylvania, and his presence on the ticket would help swing Pennsylvania, and perhaps Michigan. The only question remaining with Shapiro is, in comparison to Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, which one would bring more to the National Democratic ticket to ensure a victory over Donald Trump and MAGA?
10. Mark Kelly, Age 60, Arizona (11 electoral votes): As I’ve written before, Kelly, in his second term in the US Senate, defeated a heavily funded puppet of Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel in 2022, who also purchased the Ohio Senate seat for JD Vance. Despite Thiel trying to crush Kelly by dumping more than $15 million into Arizona against him, Kelly—a naval captain and former Astronaut—raised four times as much money for his winning campaign. Representing both a swing state and a border state, Kelly has been articulate on the issue of immigration, and, a key surrogate speaker for 2024 Democratic Senatorial candidate Ruben Gallego, one of the most prominent Latino candidates in the country. Kelly’s appeal crosses party lines in Arizona, where independent voters and McCain Republicans gave him strong support. Married to former Arizona Congressmember Gabby Giffords, shot in the brain while campaigning 14 years ago, Kelly is an indefatigable campaigner against gun violence, and strong supporter of an assault weapons ban. He and Gabby have worked closely with Kamala Harris and President Biden on issues of gun violence.
In a recent fund-raising letters to supporters of GiffordsPAC, the anti-gun violence organization founded by Gabby Giffords, Kelly’s life-long partner, Giffords wrote eloquently about Harris:
“During her time as vice president, Kamala Harris has aided President Joe Biden in every one of his historic and lifesaving actions to make our country safer from gun violence.
In 2022, she worked alongside President Biden to help pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act—the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years. Then in 2023, she worked with President Biden to establish the first-ever federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which she now oversees.”
In fact, GiffordsPAC has already started to split donations between the anti-gun violence organization and the Harris campaign. I know, because I just split a contribution to each.
David Miles Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland HS mass shooting and a leading advocate fighting gun violence, has already started using his extensive social media presence with younger voters and activists to begin raising money for the Harris campaign. And, as emotionally as the graphic picture of Kamala Harris advancing the shadow of Ruby Bridges has hit many of us, Gabby Giffords has an equally powerful and galvanizing effect on young voters, outraged by gun violence.
With the availability of two national heroes to join her team like Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords, why would Kamala Harris not choose Mark Kelly as her running mate?
Kelly has proven he can carry Arizona and its’ 11 electoral votes, regardless of how much money the GOP pours into the state. His presence as the Vice Presidential candidate on the Harris ticket may also be enough to pull Ruben Gallego to victory, over the MAGA princess, Kari Lake.
Additionally, Kelly’s appeal—as an authentic American hero—is nationwide, and may be especially helpful in turning out more votes for incumbent Democratic Senatorial candidates up for re-election in the neighboring States of Nevada and New Mexico, as well as helping Colin Allred beat Ted Cruz in Texas, where Mark Kelly lived while he worked at NASA.
I love and admire Josh Shapiro. He has been kind and gracious to the matriarch of our family, who was a member of the same Synagogue as Shapiro. He is the first public official I have ever met who reminds me of the brilliant, compassionate and spiritual Mario Cuomo, with whom I worked for nearly a decade, and about whom I wrote a book.
So, for me, it’s a very close call, and Kamala Harris—and all of us—are fortunate to have such an abundance of talented, high-integrity and dedicated pubic servants to select as our new leaders and to serve—and preserve— this democracy.
The opportunity to have such extraordinary candidates like Kamala Harris and Mark Kelly on the same Democratic National ticket—with the added value of elevating Gabby Giffords and the life and death issue of gun violence into the national spotlight of a Presidential campaign—must be seized now with vigor, and turned into a landslide victory for decency, the rule of law, fundamental human rights, and democracy.