WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is meeting at her residence on Sunday with each of the three leading vice presidential candidates: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, in the process of select one of them.
Ms. Harris is expected to announce her decision possibly as early as Monday, before making her first public appearance with the vice-presidential candidate at a campaign event in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Her campaign team is also planning an announcement via social media, officials familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.
Ms Harris met on Saturday with the working group that has been reviewing the nominations. Among the members of the working group is former Attorney General Eric Holder, whose law firm, “Covington & Burling LLP”, analyzed the financial situation and history of the candidates. Mr. Holder and his colleagues presented a detailed description of each of the candidates, people familiar with the process said.
Ms Harris also held a 90-minute meeting on Friday with Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Candidates will be notified possibly Monday evening, or Tuesday morning if selected.
Choosing her running mate is one of the most important decisions of Ms. Harris's political career as she tries to quickly build a campaign to challenge former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election. after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race last month.
The candidates on the list are all white men, who have historically attracted rural, white or independent voters.
The decision that Ms. Harris will make will also affect the future direction of the Democratic Party, empowering for other elections in the future, the candidate that will be selected now.
Mr. Shapiro, a leading candidate, has faced sharp criticism from the left, particularly from progressive groups and pro-Palestinian activists, for his support of Israel and his handling of university protests over the war in Gaza.
“We need to fix the policy on Gaza, and we need a pro-working-class policy agenda, including a pro-African-American agenda,” said Nina Turner, who co-chaired Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign and is also a researcher at the Institute. on Race, Power, and Political Economy, a progressive research organization. “Electing Governor Shapiro would remove that possibility.”
There have also been questions about how he handled a sexual harassment complaint against a former aide. Also, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which recently endorsed Ms. Harris's presidential bid, has criticized Mr. Shapiro for calls to expand programs that allow more taxpayer money to be channeled to private schools.
Several other trade union bodies have accused Mr Kelly of opposing bills they say would empower unions.
Shawn Fain, president of the UAW union, said that despite supporting Ms. Harris' presidential run, his 370,000-member union does not support the candidacies of Mr. Kelly and Mr. Shapiro.
Mr. Walz has become a favorite among progressives and youth groups, who like his criticism of former President Trump.
At 60, Mr. Walz is only a year older than Ms. Harris, but critics say he looks much older, a potential disadvantage for the campaign, which is trying to overcome President Biden's withdrawal from the race for due to concerns about his old age.
Mr. Walz responded to these criticisms on the X network, saying that his appearance is that way because he was a high school teacher and that he has “supervised the menace for 20 years. You don't leave that job with hair on your head. Believe it,” he wrote.
