This sounds like a wild, cite free guess. I don’t buy it. Money and campaigns matter.
Ok, so for the sake of argument, let’s say Kamala gets the promotion. As part of the political brokering that goes into the ol’ switcheroo, the DNC powers-that-be give her and her team some guidelines for picking a running mate: white male, comes from a red-to-reddish state, has served at the state or federal level (either elected to Congress or served in a cabinet-level position), and is 65 or younger. Also has to have some level of name recognition (can’t just be a random white congressman from a random district in, say, Arizona).
I’ll put forth a list of possibilities for you all to vote on, as I’m curious who you think would be the biggest asset to the ticket, from this list of dudes who fit the above criteria:
- Andy Beshear, governor of KY
- Steve Bullock, former governor of MT, ran for prez
- Pete Buttigieg, Sec of Transportation, former mayor of South Bend, ran for prez
- Mark Kelly, Senator from AZ
- Mitch Landrieu, senior advisor to the president, former lt. governor of LA and mayor of New Orleans
- Beto O’Rourke, former congressman from TX, ran for prez
0
voters
Would definitely not be Kelly. Not worth losing a senate seat. I’d probably go for Whitmer or Shapiro, but picked Beshear of those.
FYI, the AZ governor, a Democrat, would pick his replacement. I kept Jon Ossoff off the list because his governor is a Republican and it would be a definite loss of a Senate seat.
Fair enough. I thought they had an early election. Though if had to pick a red stater I would probably pick Doug Jones.
Ooh good one, I hadn’t thought of him. Tried to edit the poll but the window was closed.
I’d be extremely disappointed if Harris didn’t tell the ‘powers-that-be’ to take their list and shove it. If Joe bowed out, Harris would be the only viable choice this late in the game. She would have the leverage and thus would make her own list.
It’s just a message board hypothetical. I’m just wondering what people think of the options I presented. The little story behind how I got those names is as irrelevant in the big scheme of things as this entire thread. It’s just for shits and giggles.
Not buying the initial premise, but for the sake of argument here’s what I think should happen. If Biden steps aside Republicans will immediately start harping "If he isn’t in good enough shape to run for president, how can he still serve as president’ and that would continue until November. So look at this scenario. Biden resigns, Harris becomes president. She announces that she will not be a candidate in this election cycle, rather will concentrate on doing the job in this difficult time, yada yada. It will be worked out ahead of time that she will name a VP successor, having gotten public assurance from Republican leadership that they will not attempt to Garland her choice. Leaving the VP slot vacant is just too risky with Johnson next in line. This isn’t without precedent. When Agnew quit, Nixon called in the Dem leadership and basically gave them a “here’s my list, who’d be easiest to get confirmed”. Harris gets to be the first woman president for six months and preserves her options for 2028 (presuming that free elections are still a thing then). Then the convention picks whoever they want for both jobs.
Yeah, I know. I’m just feeling queasy about any sort of ‘brokered’ convention.
How did you make that list? There seems to be a lot of obvious names missing. And Beto, lol, oh dear.
White male red state Dems under 65 with state or federal experience and some fair amount of name recognition
It’s too bad that Roy Cooper is 67,then. I’d go with him over the others on that list.
For the sake of the hypothetical, I chose Bullock.
First, I don’t trust the Republicans in Congress to live up to that agreement, no matter what the leadership says.
Second, when Gerald Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller to be his Vice President in 1974, it took Congress four months (August 20-December 19) to actually confirm him, despite a general bipartisan spirit of “let’s get this behind us” exhaustion.
One thing that’s not mentioned is the downballot races. You don’t want to just eke out a win for the presidency, you want someone who can generate enough enthusiasm to have a downballot effect on the House, etc.
I expect President Harris, if it happens this month, would get a public opinion honeymoon. But I do not think she would be granted a honeymoon by the GOP House of Representatives.
If Mike Johnson cooperated that way, I’d be pleasantly surprised. Most likely, the veep spot would stay vacant. The chances of this becoming a year with three presidents is low.
I personally find Jeff Jackson so impressive. I found him to be that way within 2 minutes of listening to him for the very first time. He’s got a calming soothing way about him. I think he’d move up quickly with a national spotlight on him.
Rechecking my original post, I didn’t make it quite clear that my concerns on that matter are, shall we say, security based. And I think that reminding Johnson that the Dems saved his Speakership might tip his thinking.
Not a red state, but I’ll suggest Jamie Raskin
The fact that Mitch Landrieu’s name is on there made think it was an especially well-considered list. I think I might be his only vote in your poll, though.
It would be a dream come true to see him verbally suplex Trump off the debate stage. It would be like a PO’d Mr Miyagi versus the newest Cobra Kai.
Josh Shapiro, PA governor. Not a red state but a critical swing state. 57% approval rating, including 42% among Republicans.