That is a huge concern. Losing the senate would be a disaster.
PA is a must win state so my choice would be Shapiro.
Buttigieg and Whitmer are the only possibilities I can think of since they represent the Midwest.
I didn’t think of Gretchen being better to deliver the Michigan vote than Pete and that is a good point. Plus she has executive experience at a higher level than Mayor Pete does, and can much more easily rebuff the martyr complex if people bring up the assassination attempt.
On the other hand, Pete has experience with the White House in particular, plus he is a known quantity to me. So I guess either would be fine as long as it isn’t a “coastal elite”.
Arizona has a Democratic Governor who would appoint his replacement.
Shapiro just became governor. Pulling him out of pa would not be good.
It would be more logical to looks for someone who is at or near then end of time in office.
I’ve posted in other threads my love of Mark Kelly as the running mate.
-Vet (counters Vance and can go after Trump’s disrespect for veterans)
-Astronaut!
-Family affected by gun violence and a political assassination attempt
-Border state Senator
-From a state Dems need to win
-Moderate
-Governor who would pick his replacement is a Dem
-Looks like a badass
-White, straight male, which keeps the ticket somewhat grounded in “tradition.”
Kamala could take on Trump’s criminality, abortion history, Project 2025 connections and sell the Biden admin’s many accomplishments
Kelly could take on Trump’s past attacks on vets and dead soldiers, Republican gun worship and the fact that Trump and Vance sank the bipartisan border Bill earlier this year. Plus he’s a fucking astronaut who could kick both Trump and Vance’s asses (which might appeal to some).
Re: Shapiro. How exposed is the PA State Police on the security failures in Butler? Their boss (Shapiro) might come under some heat.
And Arizona currently has a democratic governor so she could appoint another dem if he leaves. That’s super important. Although I do not know much about the Arizona governor…hopefully she is reliably liberal for this.
ETA: Or do they have to have a special election? I do not know Arizona law on this.
Michigan, including Metro-Detroit, is polling in favor of Trump. Choosing Whitmer would hand Michigan to the Democratic party and is a great move.
Is Josh Shapiro Jewish? Might be a step too far for the remaining bigots voting Dem, and may further piss off progressives who are all in for the Palestinians right now.
Anyway, Mark Kelly seems like a winner - maybe he can blunt some of the complaints about migrants.
I think it should be someone who has won a statewide election in a red or purple state, but wouldn’t mean losing a currently serving Senator / governor. I’m hoping for Roy Cooper (gov. of NC, currently term-limited and nearing the end of his second term) or Doug Jones. John Bel Edwards might be too conservative, especially on abortion (although, as a pro-choice woman who understands what it takes to run and win as a Democrat in the deep South, I’d personally be fine with him – ditto Beshear).
I really, really hope it’s not Newsom, I don’t think another Californian is what this ticket needs (and the French Laundry thing would be raked up – a scandal that everyone can understand AND that feeds into the currently popular Republican narrative about Democrats being out-of-touch and elitist). Kelly would be OK, but that would trigger a special election that could go wrong, right? Or can the governor appoint a replacement for the full remainder of his term?
Yes. Mark Kelly’s ascension to VP wouldn’t lose the Dems a Senate seat, at least in the short term. (Kelly’s term ends in 2026.)
I like Kelly. I also like Andy Beshear, Democratic governor of red Kentucky. (Kentucky has 8 in the Electoral College.) He’s 46 and well-liked in his state.
On a less-practical level, I like some out-there picks that could bring in votes from moderates, independents, the less-engaged, and disaffected Republicans: business success (unlike Trump!) Mark Cuban and GOP apostate Adam Kinzinger, who has good name recognition among the named groups for his work on the House Jan 6 committee. I just love the idea of millions who will reluctantly vote for Trump, having an option they like a lot better. (But I concede that a more traditional choice–of a governor or senator–is far more likely.)
Yes. And a vocal supporter of Israel. Adding it to Harris being the step mother of Jewish children … yeah.
So far no love for Andy Beshear term limiting out as governor of KY?
Or Roy Cooper same in NC?
I see their names mentioned in articles frequently.
Oops. Slow typing. Done while I was typing
I would encourage anyone thinking about VP choices to play around with 270toWin. She could go all-in on the “blue wall” of WI/MI/PA and just eek out an EV majority. She could try a “New South” strategy to keep GA and flip NC, which (if she holds NV and AZ) would give her the win even if she lost the blue wall. There are a couple of other permutations.
But the most important thing is to pick a strategy quicky and commit 100%. Shapiro or Whitner may support a Blue Wall strategy, Roy Cooper or Andy Bashear may be better for a New South strategy.
She appoints, plus, regardless, I believe it’s AZ state law that the replacement has to come from the same party as the departed Senator.
Thanks!
You beat me to it but I checked (before I saw your post so not fact checking you) and you are correct on both counts:
Sherrod Brown (Ohio senator) would be an awesome pick. He’s extremely pro-worker, pro-union, white middle American dude. He gets R votes. Perfect balance for people who might be offended by Harris’s mere existence as a woman or a POC.
But losing him would be a huge loss for Ohio.
Summary
Are unions moving to Trump?
https://www.theguardian.com /us-news/article/2024/jul/15/teamsters-union-president-sean-obrien-rnc-trump-speech
In an unprecedented address, Sean O’Brien, the president of the powerful Teamsters union, delivered remarks at the Republican national convention on Monday night.
In addressing the convention, O’Brien broke with most major unions in the US, which have overwhelmingly thrown their support behind Joe Biden.
Moderating: This looks a lot like a hijack of a thread about Harris’s VP choice.
I’m going to just hide your post and tell you to avoid going off-topic like this.
The way I read that is if he won as VP there would have to be an election the following November. So the seat would be up for grabs a year early.