A Winning VP Pick for Kamala Harris
Who the Vice President is matters when the situation is extraordinary, as it is now in the US: A historic turn of events has made Vice President Kamala Harris the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, throwing the US 2024 elections into a state of a flux. My writing from less than a month ago is obsolete, as President Biden has announced that he will not seek reelection.
Four years ago, it was Biden’s turn to pick his vice-president. At the time, I wrote that the idea of the best qualified VP is meaningless. As nominees for presidents have done time and again, the principal consideration is which VP pick — from among many qualified — would help win the election. The VP pick is the first important decision of a presidential candidate, and foremost, it shows their judgment.
Who should Kamala Harris pick as her VP? Answering this question requires some background on Harris and American presidential history. For better or worse, the Black and Indian heritage and the gender of Harris will be factors in this election. Harris is a Baptist with a Jewish husband, and her faith has been influenced by multiple cultures. Here is some history. All 46 US presidents in nearly 250 years have been men. Harris is the first woman vice-president. Except Barack Obama, all presidents have been white. Only two presidents have not been mainstream Christian protestant; Kennedy and Biden are Catholic. Whether one believes that there is a race and gender bias as in Isabel Wilkerson’s telling, that Harris doesn’t fit the pattern will be used to cast doubts against her. Exactly for that reason, Harris has but no choice to pick one who fits the pattern as her running mate. Neither Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer nor Maryland Governor Wes Moore will do.
Five who are in the news as potential VP candidates are all well qualified: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Governors Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Tim Walz of Minnesota. Who from among them can bring a slice — a small slice that makes a difference — of reluctant voters to the side of Harris?
Beshear and Buttigieg are in their forties with relatively short political careers, so may be less persuasive to the undecided. I focus on the other three.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was elected in 2022. By most measures, Shapiro has been an outstanding Governor. His selection could not only help the team win the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania, but also help in other states in the Midwest. But by picking an observant Jew in Shapiro as VP, the pair would be trying to break even more new ground in American presidential politics while bringing more attention to the divisive Gaza war.
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly was elected to the US Senate for the first time in 2020, and he is probably the most well-known among the VP contenders. Kelly was a Navy Pilot in Desert Storm (Gulf War) and a NASA astronaut. In 2011, his wife Gabby Giffords, a Congresswoman at the time, survived a gun assault on her life. Kelly’s nuanced views and ability to communicate effectively on immigration through the southern border will be an asset to the Harris campaign.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is in his second term. A dad, a teacher, a high school football coach who guided his team to a state championship, and a distinguished military veteran, Walz is folksy and has a background that is relatable to the Midwest voters. Walz served in the US Army Guard for 24 years and received multiple service medals before he entered the US Congress, where he was a ranking member on the Veteran Affairs Committee for two years. Walz served for 12 years in the Congress, and as a Democrat representing a rural part of the state, he was known for his bipartisan efforts. Walz on the ticket could provide Harris the balance that Biden gave Obama on their winning ticket.
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