Kamala Harris’ team considers ‘white man’ as vice president for presidential race

Harris’s donors and supporters are reportedly already discussing potential vice presidential picks.

The conversations were “based on the conventional wisdom that the nation’s first black woman president would likely lean toward a white governor,” New York Magazine reported.

In addition to Mr. Cooper and Mr. Beshear, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania has also been suggested.

Mr. Beshear, 46, gained national prominence when he led Kentucky’s response to catastrophic flooding in 2021. He is popular in a state that sent two Republicans to the Senate.

Like Mr. Beshear, Mr. Cooper won office in a traditionally red state and is seen as a moderate without the kind of political baggage that could make him vulnerable.

Mr. Shapiro, 51, leads one of the key states in the November election. He built his reputation as Pennsylvania’s attorney general by orchestrating a billion-dollar deal with pharmaceutical companies to fund the opioid epidemic.

A staunch supporter of Israel, he ostentatiously visited Goldie’s, a kosher restaurant that was facing calls for a boycott from pro-Palestinian protesters.

Ms Harris’s tenure as vice president has not been seen as a resounding success, with her poll numbers often even worse than Mr Biden’s.

A state with high taxes and high crime

But a recent poll showed she would fare better than her potential rivals against Donald Trump – although she too is lagging behind the former president.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, touted as a potential replacement, has run what many describe as a shadow campaign while publicly proclaiming his loyalty to Mr. Biden.

But California’s reputation as a high-tax, high-crime state would make it vulnerable to Republican attacks.

Harris has a key advantage over her potential rivals: She would have access to the $240 million in funds raised by the Biden campaign. Her rivals would then have to start raising money from scratch, amid disputes over how those funds will be used.

She is expected to do well with female voters, with abortion emerging as a key election issue in November.

Vice President Harris would also reverse the age narrative, given that she is 19 years younger than Trump.

According to CNN, she is ahead of Trump among independents and moderates.

“Traditionally, running mates are chosen to balance out a candidate’s weaknesses and unify the party after a nomination battle,” Christopher Galdieri, a politics professor at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, told the Telegraph.