Who Could Be Kamala Harris’ Running Mate? Here’s the Shortlist

In a shocking turn of events on Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he was ending his bid for a second term and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination instead. The decision means that Harris, who is of Black and South Asian descent, could be the first woman of color to lead a major-party ticket.

It also means Harris will have to pick a running mate. The Democratic leadership will want Harris to pick someone who can both win over swing voters and incentivize the party’s core base to turn out at the polls.

Here are some of the possible candidates that Harris could choose.

​​Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro

Josh Shapiro, 51, won his race for governor in the swing state by just 700,000 votes in 2022. He had the largest electoral victory of any Pennsylvania non-incumbent gubernatorial candidate since 1946, and seemed to have been unusually popular with both rural and urban Pennsylvanians. Shapiro gained national attention after he oversaw the quick repairs on Philadelphia's I-95 overpass, which collapsed last year and was reopened just 12 days later.

The governor has a pro-Israel record which could help him with some constituencies and alienate him with others, including voters in Michigan, a swing state with a large Arab American community for whom Gaza remains a core issue. Shapiro would be the first Jewish candidate for Vice President since Joe Lieberman’s unsuccessful run in 2000.

Shapiro vowed to support Harris as the nominee on Sunday and called for Democrats to unite behind her. “I’ve known Kamala Harris for nearly two decades — we’ve both been prosecutors, we’ve both stood up for the rule of law, we’ve both fought for the people and delivered results,” Shapiro said in a statement on X. “Kamala Harris is a patriot worthy of our support.”

Read More: Here’s Who Has Endorsed Kamala Harris for President So Far

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly

Mark Kelly, 60, started his career in the Navy as an aviator before being selected by NASA as an astronaut. In 2011, his wife, then congresswoman Gabriel Giffords, was shot in the head during a mass shooting outside of a grocery store. Giffords has permanent disabilities as a result.

Kelly and Giffords became advocates for universal background checks and other gun control measures. In 2020, Kelly successfully ran in a special election in Arizona as a Democrat to unseat Republican incumbent Senator Martha McSally.

Known for his moderate and bipartisan rhetoric, Kelly could be a valuable asset in helping deliver Arizona to the Democrats.

“I couldn’t be more confident that Vice President @KamalaHarris is the right person to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country into the future,” Kelly wrote on X. “She has my support for the nomination, and Gabby and I will do everything we can to elect her President of the United States.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg, 42, rose to national prominence when he ran for President in 2020 as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. A Rhodes Scholar who attended Harvard and Oxford, he started his career as a management consultant for McKinsey.

Buttigieg has served as Transportation Secretary in Biden's cabinet since 2021. He was the first openly gay candidate in history to win a presidential primary and the first openly gay cabinet secretary confirmed by Senate.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper

Roy Cooper, 67, is another prominent Democrat governor of a critical swing state. Like Harris, he previously served as his state’s attorney general. The governor could help win over swing voters, since he won both his elections in North Carolina in 2016 and 2020, despite Trump carrying the state both election cycles.

"Kamala Harris should be the next President," he wrote on X. "I’ve known @VP going back to our days as AGs, and she has what it takes to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country thoughtfully and with integrity."

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear

Andy Beshear, 46, is another Southern Democrat with a track record of winning over votes in a red state. He won his campaign for re-election in 2023, despite Trump winning Kentucky by approximately 30 percentage points in 2020, in large part by running a campaign that attacked his opponent for supporting the state’s near-total ban on abortion. Abortion will likely be a critical issue in the 2024 election, and Harris is expected to make reproductive rights and abortion access central to her campaign.

Asked Monday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" about being a potential running mate, Beshear said: "The only way I would consider something other than this current job is if I believed I could further help my people and to help this country."

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker 

The 59-year-old billionaire governor of Illinois has self-financed his entire political career. J.B. Pritzker comes from one of the wealthiest families in the U.S., which owns the Hyatt hotel chain.

Pritzker's wealth could be a campaign finance asset. Filings at the end of June showed the Trump campaign with more cash on hand than Biden’s team. However, donations have poured in after Biden dropped out on Sunday, with Harris raising some $50 million through grassroots donations.

Pritzker endorsed Harris for the nomination in a statement posted on X on Monday morning, ending speculation that he would run at the top of the ticket. He said that he spoke to Harris and explained why he didn’t immediately endorse her like some of the other contenders did on Sunday. "When I spoke to Vice President Harris, I told her that President Biden’s selfless decision came as a genuine surprise," Pritzker said. "It’s important to be thoughtful about what’s next for the Democratic Party and for the country, which is why I spent hours yesterday talking to fellow leaders in our Party getting and giving input about the road to victory in November. I am also cognizant of the unique role we play here in Illinois as hosts of the Democratic National Convention."

He praised Harris for her work on abortion rights, calling her a "champion of the American values we hold dear."

Colorado Governor Jared Polis

Jared Polis, 49, has served as Colorado's governor since 2019 and was recently elected as chair of the nonpartisan National Governors Association. Like other potential contenders, he would bring a sense of bipartisan appeal to the ticket. Polis secured robust electoral victories in both 2018 and 2022, underscoring his appeal across party lines in a traditionally blue state.

However, opting for Polis might not strategically bolster Democratic prospects in crucial swing states, a potential drawback compared to other candidates. Polis is the nation’s first openly gay governor, and previously served in Congress for a decade and was a member of the Colorado State Board of Education.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore

At 45 years old, Wes Moore is often viewed as a rising star in Democratic circles. He made history in 2023 as Maryland’s first Black governor, leveraging a multifaceted career that includes acclaimed authorship, a Rhodes Scholarship, military service, and stewardship of the Robin Hood foundation.

However, his limited tenure as governor and Maryland’s securely Democratic electoral landscape could present strategic challenges for a Harris-led ticket seeking to secure pivotal swing states. Despite these considerations, Moore’s charisma and broad appeal could make him a compelling candidate to energize the Democratic base, potentially offering a fresh narrative of leadership and diversity in national politics.

Read More: Where Wes Moore Comes From

He endorsed Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday morning. "Vice President Harris has the experience, record, vision, and wisdom to unify the country," Moore said in a statement posted on X. "The morning that the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, one of the first calls I received was from Vice President Harris. She made clear that the entire nation stood with Maryland as we confronted one of the worst tragedies in the history of our state. In that moment, she demonstrated not just her powers of leadership, but also her powers of empathy."

California Governor Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom, 56, worked extensively with Harris during her time as California’s attorney general. He has been involved in the state’s politics for decades, serving as San Francisco’s mayor from 2004 to 2011 and California lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2019.

However, there are questions about his popularity both within his party and whether he can appeal to swing voters. The governor was nearly recalled by California voters in 2021 and he has come under fire following reports that he had dined at an exclusive restaurant that flouted his own government’s pandemic restrictions.

Picking Newsom as Harris' running mate could also be legally difficult since both are from California. The 12th Amendment says that states’ electors “vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves.”

Newsom has endorsed Harris, writing on X that “no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision.”

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer, 52, is another governor of an important swing state whose name has frequently been mentioned as a presidential or vice presidential contender. However, when asked by 6 News on Monday if she was prepared to take the vice presidency if it was offered, Whitmer replied: "No, I'm not going anywhere." She endorsed Harris earlier in the day, and later said that she is "proud to serve as a co-chair of her campaign."

"In Vice President Harris, Michigan voters have a candidate they can count on to lower their costs, protect their freedoms, and build an economy that works for working people," Whitmer said in a post on X. "Donald Trump is a convicted felon who stokes violence, overturned Roe, and drove our economy into the ground. We cannot let him anywhere near the White House. Vice President Harris, you have my full support. Let’s win this."

While Whitmer appears unlikely to join the ticket, she could be setting herself up for a potential presidential run in 2028. During her tenure as Michigan's governor, she has become known for her focus on infrastructure and ran on a campaign to “fix the damn roads” during her successful 2018 gubernatorial campaign. She has been a prominent abortion rights advocate and has referred to herself as “progressive.”