Other potential runners-up include Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who appeared on CNN's “State of the Union” on Sunday to explain why he calls Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), “crazy,” and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who appeared as a personal guest on “Fox News Sunday” to argue that Trump has become “older and crazier” than he used to be.
Both Walz and Buttigieg are engaged in the kind of low-key campaigning to become running mates that vice presidential candidates have honed. Vice presidential candidates have had varying degrees of success throughout modern political history. From secret recruiting operations to appearances on the candidate's favorite morning show, VP candidates are tasked with selling themselves, their record, and their ability to effectively get their message across — without appearing too needy or desperate.
This year's vice presidential nominees have not been shy, and their arguments have been especially public since the selection period was shortened when Harris suddenly rose to the top of the Democratic field after President Biden announced just a week ago that he would not seek reelection. The vice presidential candidates have been busy on television and on the campaign trail touting their abilities and playing the role of No. 2 to Harris.
Over the weekend, Walz, Buttigieg and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker appeared on Sunday television, while Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro campaigned on Harris' behalf.
During the hit TV segment, Waltz coyly declined to comment on whether he had received the vetting materials after forcefully defending his record the previous day in states where Trump and Vance had rallied.
“What a monster,” Walz said during an appearance on CNN, jokingly responding to potential attacks against him as a big-government liberal. “Kids are fed and have full stomachs and can go to school. Women can make their own health decisions. And we're a top five state for business and we're ranked in the top three for happiness.”
Speaking on Fox, a day after telling The New York Times that he didn't think it was “appropriate” to comment on whether Trump was qualified to be vice president or whether he wanted to be, Buttigieg argued that voters share concerns about Trump's age and mental ability.
Harris is considering about a dozen potential running mates, but three have emerged as top contenders – Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.) – as previously reported by The Washington Post. Both Kelly and Cooper appeared to keep a low profile over the weekend, not appearing on Sunday's shows.
The unprecedented timeline for deciding the No. 2 pick has accelerated the effort to choose a successor to Harris as the party's running mate. Harris is on track to become the Democratic presidential nominee, having secured more than two-thirds of the delegates needed to be officially nominated during the week-long campaigning period. People involved in the process caution that the search is still in its early stages, but Harris is expected to make a decision by Aug. 7, in line with the Democratic Party's virtual nomination plan.
Harris made headlines over the weekend by announcing on Sunday morning that she had raised $20 million since entering the race, two-thirds of it from first-time donors.
While several candidates have launched new attacks against Trump and Vance, Harris has adopted them in recent comments and campaign statements, Waltz's first attack on the Republican candidates was that Trump and Vance are “just crazy.”
“They're just weird. Really weird,” Pritzker told ABC News' “This Week,” criticizing Trump for being “afraid of windmills” and Vance for advocating higher taxes on childless adults.
Also appearing on MSNBC on Sunday, Buttigieg argued that Vance's “bizarre and insulting” description of Democrats as “childless catwomen” would also lead to “bizarre policies,” referring to Vance's 2021 proposal to strengthen the political power of families by giving parents the power to vote on their children's behalf.
While he did not appear on Sunday's show, Shapiro spoke to hundreds of voters in central Pennsylvania on Saturday in support of Harris. Recounting Harris's record, Shapiro argued she is fully qualified to lead the country and defeat Trump, and warned voters of what would happen if Trump returns to the White House.
“Everyone, take a closer look at that 'Project 2025',” Shapiro said, referring to a 900-page blueprint for a second term for Trump put together by former and likely future leaders of the Trump administration. “It's full of crazy ideas, dangerous ideas, but ideas that Mr. Trump intends to implement if he is given the keys to the White House again.”
Beshear, a two-time Democratic governor of heavily Republican Iowa, praised Harris in a keynote speech at the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty and Justice Celebration on Saturday night, then headlined a campaign event for Harris in Forsyth County, Georgia, on Sunday morning. Beshear has also repeatedly criticized Vance for trying to make money off Kentuckians and for misrepresenting the Appalachian region in his novel “Hillbilly Elegy.”
“J.D. Vance is a fake,” Beshear said last week on CNN's “The Source.” “The problem is J.D. Vance has no convictions. But the problem is his running mate has 34 convictions.”
Other candidates who could join Harris on the ballot include Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, both from different demographic backgrounds, who rejected claims that voters aren't ready for two women on the ticket.
But established conventional political wisdom dictates that if Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, wants to win, she'd be wise to pick a challenger to broaden her appeal to voters — in other words, a white man from a battleground state.
That wisdom has spawned a flood of memes since Harris emerged as the Democratic front-runner. “Who's going to be our VP?” one user posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, along with a photo of “white mystery” Airheads candy. “Kamala's VP picks”: Another user posted to describe a photo of a series of white paint samples labeled “Reliable White: 40 Best Shades of White.”
If there's one metric around which Democrats have begun to coalesce, it's that Harris could benefit from picking a candidate from a battleground state that is likely to decide the election.
Last week, Arizona Democrats endorsed Kerry as their vice presidential candidate, Philadelphia Democrats endorsed Shapiro and North Carolina Democrats endorsed Cooper. Asked about the trends Sunday, Pritzker acknowledged that “winning these battleground states is paramount” but added that they were not conclusive.
“But I think we've learned over the last few decades that who you pick as vice president doesn't determine whether you win a state,” he said. “What does matter is whether you get your message right across the board.”
