Kamala Harris Is Conducting Live “Chemistry” Tests With Her Top Vice Presidential Candidates
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is supposed to be seeing her leading vice presidential candidate on Sunday to check how they are progressing. At least three finalists—Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona—is scheduled to meet with Vice President Harris in a meeting described as a “chemical test,” each New York Times.
The in-person conversations are the apparent final step in a weeks-long search to choose who will join Harris on her historic 2024 ticket. The campaign has said it will announce the pick ahead of Harris’ scheduled rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The event will mark the duo’s first joint stop before touring seven swing states in just four days, according to Politico. Report.
It’s unclear whether others on the vice presidential team will be included—like the Transportation Secretary. Pete Buttigieg and Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky—have met Harris or are also on the list.
This final test is “the one that Ms. Harris is expected to place the most faith in,” time wrote. “Aides and associates say she often prioritizes personal relationships with her staff and advisers.”
These more intimate meetings followed a rapid vetting process by the Harris campaign, and information found during that process, according to one of the finalists, was shared with potential vice presidents. A sort of public vetting process played out in media interviews, on social media and in the halls of Congress.
On Friday, the mayor of Philadelphia Cherelle Parker‘steam published A tweet and video appeared to show Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro as the vice presidential candidate. At first, the video appeared to be an accidental leak of internal information before Harris’s selection was made public. A source close to Parker quickly told Philadelphia Inquirer that the mayor has expressed his support for Shapiro, but has not announced anything definitive.
While the choice to hold the campaign’s first all-ticket event in Philadelphia could be seen as an Easter egg, a Harris aide “cautioned against reading too much into the first city chosen for the tour,” Politico said. reported.
Shapiro’s position at the helm of a key 2024 battleground state has put him in the lead in the race for control. The governor, 51, drew national attention in 2020 when, as attorney general, he took on then-President Donald Trump‘s series of election fraud lawsuits against the state. Plus, he has a lot of experience winning difficult elections—upon taking office as governor, Shapiro made history by winning more votes than any Pennsylvania governor had ever had.
His road to victory was also filled with controversy.
The director of the National Women’s Defense League criticized Shapiro’s handling of a sexual harassment complaint against his assistant, saying he “should have done better” in that situation. (A spokesperson speak the Pennsylvania Capital Star that the governor and his administration “take all allegations of discrimination and harassment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate any reports.”)
Shapiro’s past and current positions on the war in Palestine have come under great pressure from progressives. In a 1993 article article Writing in college, Shapiro claimed that Palestinians were “too belligerent to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.” This week, he speak reporters that his views have changed.
While he call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “one of the worst leaders of all time,” and his handling of anti-war protests at universities has left some progressives worried about how he will handle the issue as a close ally of the president.
Before Walz entered public office in 2007, he used to be a member of the Army National Guard and a longtime school teacher and football coach. Walz’s recent rise to national recognition comes from candid and conversational interviews in which the Minnesota native speaks openly about his family and community. He said about his family’s use of in vitro fertilization and criticized Republican attacks on reproductive care.
The Governor of Minnesota has been a leader supporter call Trump and his vice presidential candidate, JD Vancesimply “strange”.
