Days away from a crucial decision: Who will Harris choose as her White House running mate?

Arizona senator Mark Kelly, 60

As a former astronaut, a former navy captain and a leader in gun reform, Kelly could make a solid choice as a VP running mate. The Arizona senator is one of the most liked men within the Democratic Party, representing a purple state that swung from Republican to Democrat in 2020.

People might recall Trump’s rage after Fox News called Arizona for Biden during the vote count on election night, and the state has been a hotbed for election deniers ever since.

Kelly is known as a centrist pragmatist, which could help offset the Republican’s narrative of Harris as a “radical liberal” from San Francisco. He’s also the husband of former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011 by a man who killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Giffords. Together, the pair founded the gun reform organisation now known as Giffords.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, 46

Kentucky’s Democrat governor has earned a solid reputation as a “consoler in chief” after steering his state through a series of devastating tornadoes and floods. This helped Beshear win re-election in what has long been a deeply conservative electorate, which Donald Trump carried by more than 20 percentage points in 2020.

Equally impressive is that Beshear won partly by leaning in to his support for abortion rights, in a state where the procedure is almost entirely banned. The son of another former governor, Steve Beshear, the 46-year-old is a centrist Democrat who has advocated expanding healthcare, improving workers’ rights and boosting education funding.

“We can’t view the world through a red or a blue lens,” he said this week. “Everything isn’t Democrat or Republican, and everybody’s exhausted of being asked to pick a side.”

His broad-brush appeal could counterbalance Trump’s VP pick, J.D. Vance, who claims he has family in Kentucky as a way of talking up his ties to the Appalachia region, one of the poorest areas in America. However, Beshear went on the attack this week, calling Vance a “phoney” and a “fake” who “ain’t from here”.

Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 42

Like Harris, Buttigieg exploded onto the national scene in 2020, when the former South Bend mayor rose from political obscurity to become the first openly gay candidate to win a presidential nomination contest that year, narrowly claiming victory in the evangelical state of Iowa during the early primary elections.

His momentum soon fizzled out, and he dropped out of the contest – which Biden would ultimately go on to win – but these days, he is widely regarded as one of the best cut-through politicians in the administration. At 42, Buttigieg is just three years older than J.D. Vance and would be among the youngest vice presidents in American history if elected.

But while he is a former military officer who was deployed in Afghanistan, some parts of middle America may struggle with a presidential ticket made up of a black woman and a gay man. As transport secretary, he has also come under fire for his slow response to the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and his management of various aviation controversies, including Boeing’s recent troubles.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, 60

Walz served 12 years in Congress representing a conservative, mostly rural southern Minnesota district – credentials that could help offset Harris’ Californian city-slicker vibe. The 60-year-old is a veteran of the Army National Guard and a former high school teacher who coached his football team to its first state championship.

He has a no-nonsense style, which has played well on the airwaves in recent days as he ramped up his attacks on J.D. Vance and the MAGA movement, describing Trump’s VP choice as “weird and creepy” – language the Harris campaign has since embraced. Walz also leads the Democratic Governors Association, which last year raised $US71.5 million ($110 million) under his stewardship.

If selected, he would bring strong establishment party connections to the race and could assist with Harris’ already impressive fundraising haul. He also has a record of progressive policy achievements that could appeal to left-leaning voters, including state-based laws to protect abortion, support transgender people, and legalise recreational marijuana.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, 59

The governor of Illinois is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the Hyatt Hotel chain. His sister, Penny Pritzker, served as the secretary of commerce under Barack Obama’s administration.

Since being elected in 2019, the businessman and philanthropist has established a record of progressive policy achievements, such as signing into law a sweeping criminal justice bill that ended cash bail and required police to have body-worn cameras for greater accountability.

However, Pritzker is one of America’s richest politicians, with a net worth of $3.5 billion. This could make it harder to appeal to working-class voters across the country. What’s more, Illinois, which takes in the city of Chicago, is a largely Democratic state and, therefore, not a key battleground for the two major parties.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, 52

Michigan’s popular governor ruled herself out of the veepstakes during an interview with CBS on Monday morning, declaring that she was not part of the vetting and that: “I have communicated with everyone, including the people of Michigan, that I’m going to stay as governor until the end of my term, at the end of 2026.”

But “Big Gretch”, as she is affectionately known, is nonetheless a popular figure within the Democratic Party, and some believe she would make a formidable leadership contender in the future. The 52-year-old rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when she imposed strict measures that were both praised and criticised.

She has also been a fierce advocate of women’s reproductive rights, healthcare and education, and now serves as the co-chair of Harris’ campaign – a role she previously served for Joe Biden. As violent extremism intensified in the lead-up to the last presidential election, Whitmer was the subject of a right-wing plot to kidnap her and overthrow the state government.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, 67

Republicans and Democrats have focused heavily on North Carolina this year – a state that Trump only narrowly won in 2020 but which both major parties believe could help pave the way to victory. Cooper, a long-time friend of Harris, had initially been named as a possible VP contender but announced his withdrawal from the selection process on Monday.

The former attorney opted out of the vetting process, reportedly due to concerns that his Republican lieutenant (deputy) governor, Mark Robinson, would try to assume control if he left the state to campaign as part of the Democratic ticket. That’s because the state’s Constitution says that “during the absence of the governor from the State ... the Lieutenant Governor shall be Acting Governor”.

In a statement posted on X, Cooper said that while he was honoured to be considered, “this just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket”. At 67, Cooper is eight years older than Harris, 59, but still a decade younger than Trump.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, 56

California’s slick governor, Gavin Newsom, has long been considered a presidential contender for the Democratic Party. But after Joe Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris, he quickly backed the vice president, quashing the likelihood of a messy challenge before the Democratic National Convention on August 19.

But while Newsom is easily one of the party’s best performers, his status as a fellow Californian presents a challenge for Harris. That’s because the 12th Amendment of the US Constitution – which sets out how presidents and vice presidents are chosen under the electoral college system – rules that if the presidential candidate and running mate are from the same state, electors from that state cannot cast votes for both offices.

There are ways to get around the statute, mind you – George Bush and his 2000 running mate, Dick Cheney, were both from Texas, for example, but Cheney ended up changing his official residency to Wyoming.

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