Four Names on Kamala Harris' VP Shortlist: CNN Report

Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly has four potential running mates in mind after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed her to be his replacement on the 2024 ticket.

CNN’s Jamie Gangel reported that she was given some names that Harris’s campaign is potentially looking into to “put together a ticket” to “create excitement and to win.”

President Joe Biden announced Sunday afternoon that he would withdraw his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. His decision follows weeks of mounting pressure from within his party and from key Democratic donors urging him to step aside for the sake of the party’s future.

This announcement marks a significant shift in the political landscape as the Democratic Party must now quickly organize to select a new nominee before August 7.

Gangel said Harris is considering Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as potential running mates.

“There are clearly others, but those four names are the names I keep hearing about,” Gangel said.

Who Is Mark Kelly?

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is a former astronaut and U.S. Navy captain. He became a senator in 2020 in a special election following the death of Senator John McCain. Kelly won reelection in November 2022.

In the Navy, Kelly flew combat missions during the Gulf War. He was selected as a NASA Space Shuttle pilot in 1996 and went to space on four different occasions.

Kelly’s wife is former Representative Gabby Giffords, who was shot during an assassination attempt in 2011. The couple has two children together.

Sen. Mark Kelly speaks at the White House on June 4. The Arizona senator is reportedly one of Kamala Harris’s running mate picks.

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The senator voted “no” on the nomination of Kathryn Davis to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and on a resolution blocking former President Donald Trump from selling $23 billion in drones to the United Arab Emirates.

Kelly serves on the committees on armed services, aging, and environment and public works. He was also on the committee on energy and natural resources until October 2023.

He has been an outspoken advocate for gun control. Kelly was endorsed by Planned Parenthood in 2020, and he supports building the Affordable Care Act but is against Medicare for All.

Kelly voted to convict Trump for inciting the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Gangel said Harris “likes (Kelly) a lot” and that they “speak to each other quite often.”

Kelly has already endorsed Harris publicly on X, formerly Twitter.

“I couldn’t be more confident that Vice President Kamala Harris is the right person to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country into the future,” he posted. “She has my support for the nomination, and Gabby and I will do everything we can to elect her President of the United States.”

Who Is Andy Beshear?

Andrew Beshear, the son of former Governor Steve Beshear, is an American attorney and has served as the governor of Kentucky since 2019.

Beshear was an attorney with Stites and Harbison, where his father was a partner. He represented the Bluegrass Pipeline, which transported natural gas liquid throughout the state of Kentucky. Beshear also presented UFLEX, which looked to receive $20 million in tax breaks during Beshear’s father’s administration.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at the state Capitol on March 26. Beshear has not endorsed Kamala Harris but it allegedly being considered for her running mate.

AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File

In 2015, Beshear was elected attorney general of Kentucky. During his time, he sued Governor Matt Bevin over issues like pensions.

As governor, Beshear signed an executive order to restore the voting rights to over 180,000 people in Kentucky who had been convicted of nonviolent felonies. He also released inmates from overcrowded prisons during the pandemic to slow the virus’s spread.

After taking office, Beshear’s administration allowed Planned Parenthood to provide abortions at its Louisville clinic. He was endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice America.

He supports legalizing casino gambling and sports betting, and he has also said he would not support an assault weapons ban.

Beshear did not mention an endorsement for Harris in his comment after Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election. He did call Biden a “consequential president.”

“Along with Vice President Harris, he led us through the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on our Capitol and steadily steered us out of a global pandemic,” the governor wrote. “Now it is time for our nation to come together. We need to dial down the anger, rancor and noise. We have an opportunity to remember that we are taught to treat our neighbors as ourselves-and that we are all each other’s neighbors.”

Who Is Roy Cooper?

Roy Cooper III is the governor of North Carolina. He previously served as the state’s attorney general from 2001 to 2017, prior to which he served in the North Carolina General Assembly in both the House of Representatives and the Senate from 1987 to 2001.

While in law school, then-Governor Jim Hunt appointed Cooper to the State Goals and Policy Board. He was the youngest person to serve on the board, which acts as an advisory group for the state’s long—and short-term policies.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper in Greensboro, North Carolina, on July 11. Cooper said on X that Kamala Harris should be the next president.

AP Photo/Chuck Burton

While attorney general in North Carolina, Cooper established a mentor and tutoring program for middle and high school students on short-term suspensions. His administration worked on investigations into the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles and dealt with the Duke lacrosse case in 2007.

As governor, Cooper signed a bill to mount cameras on school buses. He also signed bills to allow domestic violence protective orders to be granted while also expanding the state’s “revenge porn” laws.

Cooper posted on X that “Kamala Harris should be the next President.”

“I’ve known (Harris) going back to our days as AGs, and she has what it takes to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country thoughtfully and with integrity,” Cooper posted. “I look forward to campaigning for her as we work to win NC up and down the ticket.”

Who Is Josh Shapiro?

Joshua Shapiro is an attorney and has been governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. He served as Pennsylvania attorney general from 2017 to 2023, prior to which he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2005 to 2012.

Shapiro worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant to Senator Carl Levin, senior advisor to Representative Peter Deutsch and senior advisor to Senator Robert Torricelli.

As Pennsylvania attorney general, Shapiro investigated allegations of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic Church. He announced an opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson as well as three other pharmaceutical distributors in 2021.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in Pittsburgh on July 20. Shapiro said that Kamala Harris is a “patriot worthy of our support.”

AP Photo/Matt Freed

Along with other state attorneys, Shapiro opposed then-President Trump’s travel ban and sued him to block the implementation of a rule that would make it easier for employers to deny health insurance coverage to contraceptives.

During his governorship campaign, Shapiro’s platform focused on protecting voting rights and abortion rights and raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania to $15 an hour.

Since his time in office, Shapiro signed an executive order that eliminated the four-year college degree requirement for majority of state government jobs. He also supported a Republican-led school choice proposal that would distribute $100 million to families for private school tuition.

In August 2023, Shapiro announced his administration would cut ties with Real Alternatives, an anti-abortion nonprofit, which had a nearly 30-year contract with the state.

Shapiro has voiced support on multiple occasions for Israel during the Israel-Hamas war.

Shapiro posted that he’s worked with Harris for “nearly two decades” and that he knows she is a “patriot worthy of our support.”

“She will continue the work of generations of Americans who came before us to perfect our union, protect our democracy and advance real freedom,” Shapiro’s statement read. “The best path forward for the Democratic Party is to quickly unite behind Vice President Harris and refocus on winning the presidency.”

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