Ranking Harris's Potential Running Mates

[TDAS04]

A white man.  Maybe Sherrod Brown, who probably wouldn’t win his Senate seat anyway.  Not that he would deliver Ohio’s electoral votes, but he could help in MI/PA/WI.  Who cares how old he is.

Cooper, Beshear, or Shapiro would also make sense.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

A white man.  Maybe Sherrod Brown, who probably wouldn’t win his Senate seat anyway.  Not that he would deliver Ohio’s electoral votes, but he could help in MI/PA/WI.  Who cares how old he is.

Cooper, Beshear, or Shapiro would also make sense.

Cooper is too old and her hubby is already Caucasian, she will pick Garlin GILCHRIST whom wants to be S or Gov anyways as I keep saying in 2028

Hillary as a female in 2o16 Struggled in the Rust belt she need a Rust belt State not Beshear whole already said like Whitmer he isn't interested in Prez

Shapiro can be a Cabinet secretary like AG but if RFK likely becomes the nominee he will likely be his running mate but blk females are the majority in a D Primary and likely prefer Harris

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Users are so afraid of blk make candidates just like Boswell and John Love in FL and TX yeah Cruz and cott are safe for the time being because John Love and Boswell they're not known and Biden is tied in an Emerson poll in FL, underestimate FL, as a detriment to Rs, FL is likely to get a Hurricane between now and Nov 24 but it won't be an IAN and not one poor person lost a Yacht or beach home in FL, and Miami is trending D

Garlin might go for Gov but there are so many candidates for that too, if he is Gov then Harris will pick Wes Moore

Hillary struggled in Rust belt because she was a female she needs Wes Moore or Gilchrist to solidify Rust belt

DeSantis and Rubio won by 20 not by 5 because Miami went R that's not gonna happen post Rubio

[Spectator]

If Roy Cooper is as politically smart as I think he is, I think he’d see that running on any ticket with Harris is a likely loss, and would see the Senate race in 2026 as a much better opportunity.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Why the arbitrary age 56 cutoff?

Unlike a lot of folks here, I think the main job of a veep is to take over leadership of the party once the POTUS can no longer run.  Hence, I think it's important not to pick anybody who's too old to reliably run two presidential campaigns.  To be fair, though, I could probably push that age limit back to 60.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Roy Cooper would be an excellent pick, although he's older than Harris. Two-term swing state governor who brings in governing experience and balances the ticket on age, gender and geography. He's almost tailor-made.

I like Cooper, but he's going to be 67 on Election Day 2024.  Which means he would be 75 after Harris has hypothetically had her two runs at the White House.  The main responsibility of a veep is to assume leadership once the president has to step down.  Do Democrats really want to set themselves up for another geriatric standard-bearer down the road?

It's just a year older than Biden when he was vice president.

Yeah, and while I think Biden has been a good president so far, he was still a bad choice for running mate back in '08.  Obama picked someone who was widely viewed as too old to be next-in-line, and that opened the door for a needless, bitter primary contest in '16 and likely contributed to Democratic defeat.  Had Obama exercised more foresight and chosen a younger, electorally viable veep, we'd probably have avoided the Trump presidency altogether. 

Biden was an excellent pick in 2008 because he brought long experience in DC, foreign policy credentials and blue collar appeal to the table. Tim Kaine was initially Obama's "choice of heart" but he felt two young civil rights lawyers would be bad optics. Biden also proved to be an effective vice president.

I don't think the vice president always must be "next in line" after the sitting president is termed out or that picking a running mate should factor in the question whether this person is next in line after eight years. Biden even planned on running in 2016 and just didn't because of Beau. I don't think it would have changed much if he was five or ten years younger then. If you want to put blame on someone for Trump's victory, it's more on Hillary for not running a better campaign and possibly Obama who - as much as I like and admire him - owes some responsibility as well.

I don't think this accurately reflects the situation in 2016.  Biden wanted to run, but Obama was clearly signaling that he preferred Hillary.  Beau's death was both a genuine personal tragedy, and an opportunity to gracefully bow to institutional pressure.  Obama absolutely bears responsibility.  In 2008 he recognized that Hillary would be a huge electoral liability, but by 2016 he (and a lot of others) had convinced himself that was no longer true.  But I think we've all learned that someone who is a drag on the ticket one year is not going to be any better eight years on, no matter how competent a campaign she runs.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Warnock? Buttigieg?

Warnock wouldn’t be nominated for VP solely because of that senate seat. And Buttigieg appeals no almost nobody

Buttigieg would have the same amount of appeal as someone like Josh Green or Brian Schatz. It's not like the VP pick really makes or breaks anyone's vote anymore.

Warnock I understand the dilemma with his Senate seat but he would at least be considered. Three swing state Governors are included on OP's list, and I can only imagine the risk we'd be taking in Arizona or Pennsylvania by removing their newly-elected Democratic Governor this early into their term...

I don't think Green or Schatz have much appeal at all, which is why they're so low on my list.  Buttigieg would have even less.

Swing-state Senators should not get even a moment's consideration.  Chancing a governorship for a slight Electoral College bump isn't a decision to make rashly, but it still could be worth the risk.  Risking a Senate majority is a whole different proposition--almost certainly never worth it.  Governorships matter, but they're not worth even a fraction of what Congressional control is worth.

[Minnesota Mike]

Why the arbitrary age 56 cutoff?

Unlike a lot of folks here, I think the main job of a veep is to take over leadership of the party once the POTUS can no longer run.  Hence, I think it's important not to pick anybody who's too old to reliably run two presidential campaigns.  To be fair, though, I could probably push that age limit back to 60.

Disagree. The main job of the Vice President is to be able to take over the presidency at a moments notice. Political considerations are secondary. I am not against a younger VP, lord knows we need younger leadership in this country, but an arbitrary cutoff line excludes many people who would be very good at the job.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Why the arbitrary age 56 cutoff?

Unlike a lot of folks here, I think the main job of a veep is to take over leadership of the party once the POTUS can no longer run.  Hence, I think it's important not to pick anybody who's too old to reliably run two presidential campaigns.  To be fair, though, I could probably push that age limit back to 60.

Disagree. The main job of the Vice President is to be able to take over the presidency at a moments notice. Political considerations are secondary. I am not against a younger VP, lord knows we need younger leadership in this country, but an arbitrary cutoff line excludes many people who would be very good at the job.

I don't understand this.  The presidency is a political job.  How can you think about it without prioritizing "political considerations"?  That's like ignoring medical considerations when choosing a physician.

[oldtimer]

Hypothetically she will need a white old man, preferably a governor from a mild blue state.

Problem is there aren't any.
Phil Murphy comes to mind but republicans came awfully close for the New Jersey governorship.

Polis is too young.
Inslee is too vulnerable to attack due to Seattle.
I wouldn't touch an Illinois governor just for the chances he gets a criminal record.

So that leaves white old senators from states republicans can't hope to win races in, like Blumenthal.

[oldtimer]

Why the arbitrary age 56 cutoff?

Unlike a lot of folks here, I think the main job of a veep is to take over leadership of the party once the POTUS can no longer run.  Hence, I think it's important not to pick anybody who's too old to reliably run two presidential campaigns.  To be fair, though, I could probably push that age limit back to 60.

Disagree. The main job of the Vice President is to be able to take over the presidency at a moments notice. Political considerations are secondary. I am not against a younger VP, lord knows we need younger leadership in this country, but an arbitrary cutoff line excludes many people who would be very good at the job.

The real job of the Vice President is to do nothing until called for, which can be very boring, unless the President is of reduced mental capacity.

The No2 spot on the Ticket has more fun and responsibility in an election campaign.

That's why they are mainly chosen on campaign considerations, not heir's apparent.

[Minnesota Mike]

Hypothetically she will need a white old man, preferably a governor from a mild blue state.

Problem is there aren't any.
Phil Murphy comes to mind but republicans came awfully close for the New Jersey governorship.

Polis is too young.
Inslee is too vulnerable to attack due to Seattle.
I wouldn't touch an Illinois governor just for the chances he gets a criminal record.

So that leaves white old senators from states republicans can't hope to win races in, like Blumenthal.

How about Tim Walz? Not that old, would be 64 in 2028*, but a two term governor of a purpleish state who also spent 12 years in the House.

* I am assuming a Harris run would be in 2028 because Biden is 99% likely to be the 2024 Dem candidate.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

She doesn't need a white man her hubby is white she already said she wants a blk or female and that is Wes Moore, Whitmer or Gilchrist and she will pick GILCHRIST if he isn't Gov, HILLARY PICKED KAINE AND SHE LOST, LESSON FOR HILLARY ISNT WHITE MALE ITS THE RUST BELT she struggled and Gilchrist is the key

Buttigeig won't be in Cabinet but Shapiro will certainly be AG not Veep as Granholm is energy Secretary she said she wants a minority Veep not a White Male Veep that's Whitmer, Wes Moore and Gilchrist not Cooper, Buttigeig or Beshear

But RFK Jr wants to run too he can certainly take blk votes away from her, not NEWSOM

MN is safe D, this isn't 2016