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

Kamala Harris’ allies are discussing selecting a white man as vice president to bolster her bid for office as the party’s presidential nominee gains momentum.

Names like those of the governors Andy Beshear from Kentucky and North Carolina Roy Cooper were suggested as the fallout from Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance shows no signs of improving.

On Thursday, Mr Biden sparked fresh concerns when he said he was the first “black woman to serve with a black president” in a radio interview.

He also made a confusing reference to the fact that there was no traffic on the highways during an event celebrating the Fourth of July holiday.

A document allegedly written by “unnamed senior officials within Democratic political institutions” is circulating in Washington, according to CNN.

Titled “Free from the Burden of What Was: The Case for Kamala,” it lays out why Vice President Harris must take over.

“There is only one way out of this mess, and that is Kamala.

“Kamala Harris is the one who most firmly claims Democratic legitimacy.

“She is the only candidate who can take the reins now, instead of doing so at the end of August, less than three months from the end.”

Influential black Democratic congressman Jim Clyburn said he would support Harris if Mr Biden stepped down.

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.

“If Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic nominee, she would do so after four years as vice president and four years in the Senate, with an eye toward likely attacks from Trump as a secret radical.

“She would also like to boost her chances in the crucial swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. I expect she will pick a white moderate who would reassure those voters, much like Barack Obama did by picking Biden years ago.”

The Trump team is stepping up its attacks on Ms Harris, with the former president calling her “Kamala Harris the Laffin” and “Kamala Harris the Sneering Co-Pilot”.

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