With US Vice President Kamala Harris securing the nomination as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate on Friday, speculation is rife on who she will pick as her running mate.
Harris will announce the name early next week when she is set to go on a seven-state swing of key battlegrounds, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and North Carolina, with her VP pick.
The New York Times reports that Covington & Burling, the Washington law firm hired by the Harris campaign to vet potential vice presidential candidates, has completed its task, leaving the final call to Harris.
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro are among the frontrunners. According to an AP-NORC poll, Kelly stands out with greater name recognition and higher favourability, especially among Democrats.
Kelly is a Navy veteran and former astronaut. He is known for his gun control advocacy along with his wife Gabrielle Giffords who survived a shooting in 2011.
"Kelly has carved out an image as a moderate in Arizona, building a coalition that relied on white women in the suburbs as well as young Latino voters who were crucial in delivering the state to Joe Biden in 2020. That kind of coalition is likely to be essential if Democrats hope to hold on to the White House," says The New York Times.
Governor Josh Shapiro's oratory skills are often compared to those of former US president Barack Obama. "Shapiro has seen high approval ratings since he was elected in 2022 in a swing state Trump narrowly carried in 2016," highlights the BBC.
Shapiro grabbed headlines last year after rebuilding a collapsed bridge on an important Philadelphia highway at a quick pace. It was seen as a huge political victory for a first-term governor.
The names of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are also doing the rounds.
On an interesting note, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has reportedly moved up on Harris' shortlist after a video of him on MSNBC went viral. He had mocked Donald Trump, JD Vance and the Maga Republicans as “weird people.” Harris herself was quick to catch the lingo and call her opponents the same. Press releases put out by the Harris campaign had called Trump and Vance 'weird' too.
Anticipation on who will get the nod as the US vice presidential nominee is soaring as the exhaustive vetting process continues, poring over the minutest of details on the contenders. From tax returns to medical history, nothing is spared. In all, interesting days ahead.
