Kamala Harris, who can run with her? All the names in pole position –

From Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to Kentucky’s Andy Beshear or North Carolina’s Roy Cooper. There are nine possible candidates for the vice presidency of the United States with Kamala Harris aiming for the White House. But the real “question is: who can beat Trump in their home state?” writes Politico, citing a Democratic strategist close to the White House on condition of anonymity. In any case, moments after President Joe Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the presidential election and endorsed Harris, rumors began to circulate about who could run alongside her. Some Democrats have openly expressed their preferences. For the chairman of the Democratic Party of Philadelphia and former congressman Bob Brady, for example, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro “would be a great choice.” The Democratic strategist close to the White House also mentioned Arizona Senator Mark Kelly of the Democratic Party.

In pole position, also because he represents a key and swing state, is Josh Shapiro, 51, governor of Pennsylvania since 2023 and before then attorney general, county commissioner and state representative. If Harris were to choose Shapiro, she could in fact obtain a few more votes from an undecided state. Votes that Democrats desperately need if they want to keep the White House. With his resume and his “unique biography”, Senator Mark Kelly could be an important choice as the Democratic representative of a key swing state, but above all a border state, Arizona. This gives him greater authority to talk about immigration issues and therefore a great advantage while Republicans attack Harris for the management of the border. The name of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, 52, was among those circulating as a possible replacement for Joe Biden in the race for the White House. But yesterday, after the president’s endorsement of his vice president, his aides were quick to tell CBS News that “no one is working behind the scenes to take Harris’s place.”

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Gavin Newsom, 56, has also been mentioned as a possible replacement for Biden and a potential presidential candidate. But after Biden supported Harris, his aides told CBS that he would not challenge the vice president by asking Democrats to choose between her and him. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, 46, who was first elected in 2019 and reelected in November with a five-point advantage, is also a possible vice presidential candidate. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper could be chosen by Harris as her running mate, as he cannot run for a third term. Then there is Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, 59. He is also seen as a possible presidential candidate in part because of his standing in the party and his ability to self-finance a campaign.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore is “a trailblazer,” like Harris. He became Maryland’s first black governor in 2023 and is widely considered a possible candidate for the White House in the future. The young governor, just 45, also has a highly respected resume as a best-selling author, war veteran, small business owner, Rhodes Scholar, and former CEO of one of America’s largest organizations, ‘Robin Hood,’ which fight poverty. Finally, Politico indicates Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as a possible candidate for the US vice presidency. In 2020, he was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, the outsider who aspired to succeed Barack Obama, and in the past few hours he formally supported Harris. In a statement on X, he wrote that Harris was “the right person to take over, defeat Donald Trump, and succeed Joe Biden as President.” Buttigieg, 42, was known to supporters as “Mayor Pete” as the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He is also the first openly gay person confirmed to the president’s Cabinet. Buttigieg is also a Rhodes Scholar and served in Afghanistan.