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Vice President Kamala Harris is having a second.
Her marketing campaign raised greater than $300 million final month after she introduced her candidacy, dwarfing rival and former president Donald Trump’s fundraising efforts for July. A lot of that money got here inside the week after President Joe Biden stated he would finish his re-election marketing campaign and backed Harris.
Now that she’s formally secured sufficient votes to grow to be the Democratic nominee, Harris must discover a vp. Harris is predicted to call her operating mate by Wednesday, though it’s been reported {that a} resolution might come as quickly as Monday.
A number of candidates — together with Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear — have cleared their schedules for the weekend to organize for a shot at becoming a member of the marketing campaign. Not less than half a dozen candidates have met with Harris’s vetting workforce to debate a candidacy, though not all are as probably contenders as the remaining.
Right here’s a short have a look at 4 potential vice presidential candidates which will go toe-to-toe with Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance in November.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is one other main contender, though he’s a comparatively late entry to the so-called veepstakes. Walz was first elected to the U.S. Home in 2006, received re-election 5 occasions, and have become governor in 2019.
Underneath Walz’s tenure, Minnesota enacted investments in inexpensive housing, a tax credit score geared toward low-income mother and father, and established the objective of a carbon-free electrical grid by 2040. By 2035, utilities should present that not less than 55% of their vitality gross sales are from renewable sources like wind, photo voltaic, hydroelectric, and biomass. Walz has additionally championed points like free college meals for college students and advantages for staff, comparable to elevated protections for staff in Amazon warehouses and building websites.
Additional studying:
Star Tribune: What you need to find out about Gov. Tim Walz’s document in workplace amid VP hypothesis
The Washington Put up: May Tim Walz go from educating historical past to being a part of it?
The Wall Road Journal: Tim Walz Brings Folksy Demeanor, Liberal File to Harris VP Shortlist
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is without doubt one of the few Democrats main an in any other case purple state. For some, that makes him an ideal candidate to assist win over Republicans and unbiased voters. A lot of his reputation additionally comes from his robust responses to pure disasters and the pandemic.
Though Beshear has acknowledged the specter of local weather change, he doesn’t deliver it up usually whereas engaged on vitality laws.
In 2023, Kentucky was certainly one of 5 states that rejected federal funding to create a local weather motion plan; a 2021 plan, Kentucky E3, promotes the usage of each clear vitality and fossil fuels. In April, the governor vetoed laws selling nuclear vitality in his state, which depends closely on coal.
He’s additionally signed into regulation tax breaks for cryptocurrency miners, a few of which have invested in cities and repurposing deserted mines. Final yr, he signed a Republican-backed tax reduce invoice that lowered particular person earnings tax charges.
Additional studying:
NBC Information: With Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Democrats eye a VP choose who can win over blue-collar voters
The Impartial: Insiders are torn on whether or not ‘nepo child’ Andy Beshear must be Kamala Harris’s operating mate
Slate: Why It Must Be Andy Beshear
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is without doubt one of the few remaining politicians on the federal degree who’re on Harris’s shortlist. Kelly, a U.S. Navy veteran and astronaut, can also be the husband of former Home consultant Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination try at an occasion in Tucson in 2011.
Kelly has been a giant participant within the Senate since he took workplace in late 2020, cosponsoring laws that enabled farmers to get incentives in the event that they use strategies that retailer carbon, in addition to a measure that put $4 billion for drought mitigation within the Inflation Discount Act (IRA). Arizona has acquired not less than $10.5 billion in investments and incentives into clear vitality from the IRA, which Kelly has stated created greater than 11,000 jobs.
Nevertheless, Kelly is without doubt one of the candidates least favored by labor unions, which have been overwhelmingly supportive of former president Joe Biden and Harris. Though he has proven some latest assist for the labor motion, the teams primarily favor different candidates, together with Beshear. The truth is, the heads of the United Auto Employees union and Transport Employees Union have come out towards Kelly.
Additional Studying:
NBC Information: Border state hawk Mark Kelly as VP choose may assist protect Harris on a significant legal responsibility
The Guardian: Who’s Mark Kelly, the potential vice-presidential choose from Arizona?
The Huffington Put up: Mark Kelly, A Potential Democratic VP Candidate, Endorses The PRO Act
