- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Harris is expected to make her vice president choice by Monday ahead of her first public appearance with the new nominee on Tuesday in Philadelphia
By: Shajil Kumar
US VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, was declared the 2024 presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party on Friday after she won enough votes from Democratic delegates in a virtual roll call.
Harris, 59, would face Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump, 78, in the general elections scheduled to be held on November 5.
“I am honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States,” Harris, 59, said, calling in by phone to a party celebration after securing enough votes from grassroots delegates in a virtual nomination process.
She plans to meet in person this weekend with the top contenders vying to become her presidential running mate for November’s election as she nears a final decision on her pick, according to two sources familiar with the process.
Vice President pick
On Friday the Democratic candidate met one-on-one with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, one of the leading contenders, and the meeting lasted roughly 90 minutes, according to two other sources familiar with the meeting.
Harris is expected to make her choice by Monday ahead of her first public appearance with the new vice presidential nominee on Tuesday in Philadelphia. The Harris campaign is also planning a social media announcement featuring the duo, officials familiar with the planning told Reuters.
Other contenders include Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the sources said.
The choice of a running mate is one of the most consequential decisions of Harris’ political career, as she hastily pulls together a campaign to challenge Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 election after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month. Her shortlist of candidates includes all white men with a track record of winning over rural, white or independent voters.
Harris’ decision also influences the future direction of the Democratic party, elevating the chosen candidate to the front of the line for future presidential contests.
Some candidates on the shortlist have already rescheduled or delayed plans over the next few days, indicating they needed to clear some time for a face-to-face interview.
Shapiro, for example, canceled planned fundraisers in the Hamptons this weekend aimed at raising money for his PAC, or political action committee. “His schedule has changed and he is no longer traveling to the Hamptons this weekend,” his press secretary Manuel Bonder said.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder and the law firm Covington & Burling were hired by the Harris campaign to investigate potential vice-presidential candidates.
They have completed their work and turned over their findings, a source told Reuters.
Harris and her new running mate are expected to embark on a four-day tour of battleground states on Tuesday that will take them to six other locations including western Wisconsin, Detroit and Las Vegas. The first stop, Philadelphia, has fueled speculation that Shapiro is a frontrunner, but the campaign has warned against reading too much into the choice.
Typically, campaigns begin thinking about their vice-presidential pick after the primary race ends in the spring, giving them months to vet candidates and make a decision based on polling data, personality and other factors, but Harris has been forced to make the choice on a compressed timeline.
New aides
Kamala Harris’ campaign has added three new senior advisers, including top strategists who guided Democratic former President Barack Obama’s two winning U.S. presidential bids.
David Plouffe, who was manager of Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008 and a senior aide during his 2012 re-election victory, joined Harris’ campaign for president as a senior adviser, the source said.
The Harris campaign is also being joined by Stephanie Cutter, a Democratic communications veteran who previously served as Obama’s White House communications director and deputy campaign manager. Cutter will join the Harris campaign as senior adviser on strategy messaging.
Cutter’s firm is on contract to produce the Democratic National Convention in August.
Other Obama alums joining the campaign include Mitch Stewart, who worked on both Obama campaigns and will come in as senior adviser on battleground states. David Binder, who led Obama’s public opinion research operation, will expand his role on the Harris campaign to lead the opinion research operation.
Fox News debate
Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has agreed to an offer from Fox News to hold a debate with Harris on September 4, he said in a post on Truth Social late on Friday.
“Rules will be similar to the rules of my debate with Sleepy Joe, who has been treated horribly by his party, but with a full arena audience,” Trump said, referring to President Joe Biden, who has since dropped his reelection bid.
The post was removed for a few minutes before being reposted, with Trump deleting his proposal for a “major” town hall gathering on the same date if Harris was “unwilling or unable to debate”.
Harris had responded last month that she was “ready” after Fox News proposed the presidential debate between the two candidates on Sept. 17.
After Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and backed Harris, Trump said he would not debate her because she was not the official candidate.
As proof of her lack of support, he added that former President Barack Obama had yet to endorse her. But Obama did so a day later, and on Friday, she secured the delegate votes needed to clinch the Democratic nomination. (Agencies)
