Vice President Kamala Harris has completed her selection of a running mate and plans to consider her options over the weekend before making an announcement early next week, according to a new report.
Covington & Burling, the law firm that was vetting Harris’ candidacy, turned over the materials to the Harris campaign on Thursday. The New York Times.
Harris is scheduled to meet with the nominee this weekend and is likely to make an announcement by Tuesday evening, when she and her newly selected running mate are scheduled to take the stage in Philadelphia, the first stop on her multi-swing tour, the outlet reported.
Harris, 59, has an all-male slate of candidates, most of whom are from battleground states that will be crucial in the 2024 election.
Harris sent review materials to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The first three are considered the front-runners. The vice president’s office has not said who the front-runner is, but both Shapiro and Beshear canceled events this weekend as the vice presidential election continues.
Harris had to quickly choose her running mate with just two weeks to do so.
Biden withdrew from the race on July 21, after which the Democratic National Committee scrambled to vote for Harris in a virtual roll call to avoid a legal fight over state votes. Harris must make a decision by Aug. 7 to ensure they both serve as vice presidential candidates in the November election.
The New York Times described the Democratic vice presidential nominee’s two-week vetting process as “intrusive” and “exhaustive,” including video calls with top lawyers, aimed at rooting out personal information that could damage the campaign.
A source close to Harris told The Times that she plans to find someone she can get along with.
“It’s going to come down to who she can build relationships with and who can have the difficult conversations with her,” said Sen. LaFonza Butler (D-Calif.), who has known Harris for more than a decade and served as a senior adviser to her 2020 campaign.
“She’s someone I’m going to be seeing regularly for the next four years,” he told the outlet. “It can’t just be toleration. There has to be genuine liking and care and good vibes.”
The Harris campaign did not respond to inquiries from The Washington Post on Friday.
