California Gov. Gavin Newsom has long been considered a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, but President Biden’s abrupt decision to end Newsom’s reelection campaign has shifted the focus to whether he will be Sen. Kamala Harris’ running mate.
Amid growing concerns about Biden’s mental health and age following his poor performance in a debate with former President Trump in June, Newsom repeatedly denied rumors of a so-called “shadow campaign” that many have speculated Biden has been conducting since last year’s debate with Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Many have suggested that Newsom could again be a contender for the White House now that Vice President Harris has taken over the Democratic nomination and garnered enough delegate support to become the party’s nominee and take on President Trump.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom campaigns for President Biden at a county Democratic Party event on July 4, 2024 in South Haven, Michigan. (Chris Dumond/Shutterstock)
But has Newsom really been ruled out as Harris’ running mate? The 12th Amendment could be a potential stumbling block.
Ratified in 1804, this act established the procedures for selecting the president and vice president in response to problems that arose in the country’s earlier elections. The act stipulated that electors cast separate votes for president and vice president, as they had done previously when they were required to cast two votes for president.
However, if the presidential and vice presidential candidates are from the same state, that state’s electors cannot vote for both offices. This rule prevents the candidates’ home state’s electors from influencing the outcome of the election for both offices.
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Vice President Kamala Harris addresses supporters during a campaign rally at West Allis Central High School on July 23, 2024 in West Allis, Wisconsin. (Jim Vondruska/Correspondent)
In the first election held under the Twelfth Amendment, Thomas Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, were from Virginia. Because the amendment had not yet been ratified, the election was ultimately decided by the House of Representatives.
But there are ways around this law: In the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney, were both Texas residents, which raised questions at the time about whether they could legally run together.
Cheney, a longtime Texas resident, changed her legal residency to Wyoming to comply with the provisions of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, a move that would prevent Texas electors from voting for both candidates.
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Democratic front-runner Kamala Harris has yet to choose a running mate. (Andrew Harnick/Staff)
Harris is reportedly working on a list of candidates to choose a running mate less than two weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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According to NBC News, Harris’ list of potential running mates has been narrowed down to Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota.
Governor Newsom endorsed Harris for president on Sunday, writing to X that “there is no one better qualified to denounce Donald Trump’s dark vision and steer our country in a healthier direction than our own Vice President, Kamala Harris.”
When asked for comment on a possible vice presidential candidate, Newsom’s office referred Fox News Digital to the governor’s X post.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
