Washington/Prensa Latina
The possible announcement by Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris of who will complete her ticket for the US elections on November 5 is keeping expectations high here in the media today.
Harris met the day before with the three finalists on her shortlist: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
It was unclear late Thursday after a day of interviews with finalists whether she had made a final decision, people familiar with the search said, CNN reported.
So far, Harris’ campaign is said to be making an official announcement via an online message prior to a rally tomorrow in Philadelphia, where the duo will participate.
Four years ago, in August 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden announced Harris as his running mate via text and email to supporters, and she will do the same this time around.
“I want you to be the first to know who I am choosing to serve alongside me as Vice President,” Harris wrote in a campaign email last week to supporters.
This will be her first major decision as a Democratic candidate, and for some observers it “really comes down to a political calculation,” said former Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, a veteran of two Democratic presidential campaigns.
They believe it will be a media and electoral move and recall that the last time a vice presidential candidate was widely seen as someone who helped the ticket win a state was in 1960, when Lyndon Johnson attracted Texas voters to John F. Kennedy.
So speculation is that if Harris is looking for help in a key state right now, she will no doubt go with Shapiro or Kelly, though if she is looking for a partner who can help her govern, she would lean toward someone like Walz, with his extensive connections in Congress.
In 2020, when she ran for state attorney general, she outperformed Biden, winning more votes than any other statewide candidate in history, the reviews note.
Although polls give him the highest favorable ratings among Democrats in key swing states, Shapiro, who is Jewish, faces criticism for his open support for Israel.
Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and husband of former Representative Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, is a popular senator from a crucial state like Arizona, where he would help her overcome one of her greatest vulnerabilities, immigration.
Walz has also demonstrated his ability to raise money and as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association he has broken records.
With 90 days to go until the election, Democrats will be looking to back victory, and that will perhaps be what weighs most heavily on Harris’ decision.
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