Ranking Harris's Potential Running Mates

[Heebie Jeebie]

If Harris were the nominee and had to choose a running mate, I'd rank them into the following tiers:

Red-State Governor
1.  Andy Beshear (KY)

Swing-State Governors (by size of state)
2.  Josh Shapiro (PA)
3.  Gretchen Whitmer (MI)
4.  Katie Hobbs (AZ)

Blue-State Governors (by size of state)
5.  Maura Healey (MA)
6.  Wes Moore (MD)
7.  Jared Polis (CO)
8.  Josh Green (HI)
9.  Gina Raimondo (RI)

Blue-State Senators (loosely by seniority)
10.  Chris Murphy (CT)
11.  Martin Heinrich (NM)
12.  Brian Schatz (HI)
13.  Cory Booker (NJ)
14.  Tammy Duckworth (IL)
15.  Ben Ray Lujan (NM)

Everyone listed would be no older than 56 on Election Day 2024.

Does this seem like a reasonable way to evaluate her potential running mates?

[Lambsbread]

Warnock? Buttigieg?

[Zedonathin2020]

Warnock? Buttigieg?

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

[President Johnson]

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.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

She already declared she is running for Veep not Prez so it's not gonna happen til 28, that's why it says BIDEN AND HARRIS NOT HARRIS AND SOMEONE ELSE

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

D's are united behind Biden even in the wake of Docugate due to we are so close to Filibuster proof Trifecta and it's a Prez campaign not a MIDTERM

Swalwell said this on MSNBC when Docugate broke we aren't vacating Biden because we are so close to a Filibuster proof Trifecta this is it it's time with Gallego, that's why Gallego announced so early to get D's focus back on Filibuster proof Trifecta than worried about Docugate that was the strategy, Voting Rights and Reparations and gun control for Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly

Pelosi,Jeffries and Sheila Jackson Lee and Eleanor Norton are marking up bills again to knock the Filibuster and Murkowski said that she will help pass Voting Rights if D's have the 51/50 S with Veep Harris and Gallego not Sinema and Lake is losing

End the Filibuster by bringing every Bill out of CMT TO A VOTE AND CLOTURE LIKE NOMINATIONS AND W AMEND

[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?

[emailking]

"A vice president has never challenged a sitting president."

Frank Underwood, House of Cards, S2E12

[President Johnson]

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.

[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. 

[emailking]

Obama needed to beat McCain and he needed someone with foreign policy experience. Biden makes sense from the perspective.

[Heebie Jeebie]

Obama needed to beat McCain and he needed someone with foreign policy experience. Biden makes sense from the perspective.

If this were Obama's actual rationale, it was beyond foolish.  At the time of the veep selection, Iraq was far and away the most important issue in voters' minds, and McCain was the country's #1 cheerleader for doubling down on Iraq.  Obama didn't need "foreign policy experience" to give him an edge there.

[emailking]

Well the consensus was that he did. He had none.

[Lambsbread]

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...

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Obama needed to beat McCain and he needed someone with foreign policy experience. Biden makes sense from the perspective.

If this were Obama's actual rationale, it was beyond foolish.  At the time of the veep selection, Iraq was far and away the most important issue in voters' minds, and McCain was the country's #1 cheerleader for doubling down on Iraq.  Obama didn't need "foreign policy experience" to give him an edge there.

She's not running for Prez

[Ragnaroni]

Ducksworth would be a good woman-woman ticket but it might be too alienating.
I think since Harris is from CA, she needs someone from another region (sorry Henrich and other southwesters). No southerners is a good idea so the midwest is my best bet

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Harris won't pick another female if she ran for Prez she would pick Garlin GILCHRIST whom wants to be S or Gov in 26 but Slotkin i running in 24

The reason why Ds want Harris to wait til 28 we went thru Hillary in 2016 anyways it's always tough for a female to be Prez Ferraro cost Mondale in. 84 Palin cost McCain 08 and Hillary in 28, in 28 she would be ready but so would Newsom and RFK Jr will be, by the sound of RFK Jr he is ready now and Rs smeared Joe Kennedy Hannity we are nobodies

[John Forbes Kerrygold 🧈]

2024: Roy Cooper or Andy Beshear
2028: Josh Shapiro all the way

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

2024: Roy Cooper or Andy Beshear
2028: Josh Shapiro all the way

Harris said she is open not to a White Veep but another blk Veep Garlin GILCHRIST would be her choice we need MI not KY and Cooper is too old anyways and NC is a swing state but it's not a 303 state and Hillary as a female struggled in the Rust belt Beshear said like Whitmer he isn't interested in running for Pez

Shapiro after 2 yrs will stay in PA not run for Veep he would be a 28 Veep candidate to Newsom or RFK Jr

[LostInOhio]

If she takes over the presidency before 2028 she will probably choose Buttigieg as her VP since she and her husband are close friends with he and Chasten, and Buttigieg already works within the administration. If she wins the nomination in ‘28, she’ll probably choose either Shapiro or Whitmer.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

If she takes over the presidency before 2028 she will probably choose Buttigieg as her VP since she and her husband are close friends with he and Chasten, and Buttigieg already works within the administration. If she wins the nomination in ‘28, she’ll probably choose either Shapiro or Whitmer.

LoL Blks are unanimous against Buttigeig blks are against SSM she wont pick Buttigeig

[President Johnson]

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.

[NewYorkExpress]

I think the list would be:

Male candidates:

Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock
Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
Attorney General Merrick Garland
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigeig

Female Candidates:
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly
Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

[Minnesota Mike]

Why the arbitrary age 56 cutoff?

[I Will Not Be Wrong]

Before the recent crisis I would have said Buttigieg. Now I would say either Beshear or Cooper for sure.