Kamala Harris Narrows VP Running Mate Search to Shapiro and Walz

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Credit | REUTERS

United States: Kamala Harris has dramatically reduced her search for a vice presidential running mate to two finalists to two individuals, namely the Governor of Pennsylvania – Josh Shapiro, and the Governor of Minnesota – Tim Walz, this Monday.

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Harris, now the US vice president, is expected to declare her choice by Tuesday at the latest, before her initial joint appearance with her chosen partner the following evening at Temple University in Philadelphia.

According to the reports, it was still unclear whether the party chiefs had arrived at a definitive action. The event will mark the starting point of a five-day, seven-city swing vote through states considered most crucial to the November 5 election, as Reuters reported.

Importance of selecting running mates

The selection of a running mate is one of the most important election decisions of Harris’ political career, as she quickly assembles a campaign to oppose Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and the latter’s Vice-Presidential candidate, US Senator JD Vance, in the November 5 polls. Vance will also be back in south Philadelphia tomorrow, Tuesday.

Shapiro, at 51 years old, is a rising political figure in the Democratic party with high approval ratings in Pennsylvania, a state with 19 electoral votes necessary for both Harris and Trump to clinch.

Former state attorney general Shapiro will increase the ticket’s historical value; he will be the first Jewish vice president and the first Black, South Asian American woman president, as Reuters reported.

It can turn off some of Shapiro’s progressive voters. Still, at the same time, it most certainly will woo over moderates and neutralize Republican attempts to pin the Democrats down on the Israel-Gaza war issue.

Walz, who is 60 years old, was a member of the US Army National Guard and a former teacher. He has emerged as a key figure in the campaign in the last couple of weeks due to his effective spokesman for Harris.

He has recently labeled Trump and Vance as ‘weird,’ a virtual insult that the Harris campaign has embraced.