Veepstakes!
Friday, Aug 2, 2024 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Politico…
Kamala Harris is preparing for the final stage of selecting a running mate: face-to-face interviews.
She has yet to meet with any of the vice presidential finalists in person. But Harris plans to do so in the coming days, the last step in an unusually condensed vetting process before a public rollout next week that includes a rally Tuesday in Philadelphia.
* NBC Chicago…
As speculation over who Vice President Kamala Harris will choose as her running mate picks up, with multiple Democratic governors canceling weekend obligations ahead of an expected decision, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker doesn’t appear to be sweating the spotlight too much.
Appearing on MSNBC, Pritzker alluded to recent scheduling changes made by Governors Tim Walz, Josh Shapiro and Andy Beshear as all of them are rumored to be among the finalists to be Harris’ running mate.
Pritzker joked that he had to cancel a performance at Lollapalooza with Blink 182 on Sunday due to being in consideration to join the presidential ticket. […]
According to NBC News, Pritzker is one of six candidates that have met with that vetting team in recent days. Reports indicate that Harris’ vetting team has also met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
* Sun-Times…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker met twice with Kamala Harris’ vetting team this week — as the race to find a running mate winds down.
Pritzker met virtually with the team on Monday and Wednesday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the meetings. The Democratic governor began submitting vetting materials last week and has been asked for several follow-up materials.
The longest meeting occurred Monday, the source said. Former Attorney General Eric Holder is leading the vetting process, along with former Biden White House General Counsel Dana Remus, who has led the Pritzker calls. […]
Also on Thursday, 90 members of Illinois unions, including members of LIUNA and the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local 130, signed a letter in support of Pritzker as vice president, calling the governor “a steadfast ally to Union families” and “a tireless leader who gets big things done.”
* Tribune…
Also on Thursday, the leaders of Illinois abortion rights political action committee Personal PAC and Men4Choice Advocacy sent a letter to Harris urging her to choose Pritzker.
“At a time when support for our individual liberties and for bodily autonomy could not be more important, Gov. Pritzker’s unwavering commitment, demonstrated by decades of allyship and activism in support of abortion rights, access, and so much more, speaks volumes about his character and priorities,” wrote Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick and Men4Choice Advocacy Executive Director Oren Jacobson. […]
In another development Thursday, Pritzker got a boost from some of Illinois’ most powerful businesspeople, 40 of whom sent a letter to Harris’ campaign pushing for him to be picked as her running mate.
Those who sent the letter are heads of some of the biggest development and investment organizations in Chicago. Many are also big Democratic fundraisers and contributors.
Thoughts?
- NewToSpringfield - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:08 am:
I love Pritzker. Would be a great President one day. He shouldn’t be VP–this ticket does not need to be “California and Chicago radical liberals”, Illinois will benefit from him finishing his term, and there are better options from more electorally important states.
That said, I think Harris and her team realize all that, but they’re casting a wide net, as they should.
- Nick Name - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:15 am:
As much as Trump is losing his mind over having to run against Harris, I think Harris having Pritzker as a running mate - with practical unlimited personal funds to throw at the campaign - would put him in total meltdown mode.
- cermak_rd - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:20 am:
I like his sense of humor. And he got out an advertisement that his state does Lollapalooza.
- Cat lady - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:24 am:
As much as I love Pritzker, I am hoping the VP pick is Tim Walz. He seems like the perfect compliment to the ticket. He has a way of talking about issues that just might sway a few rural and populist voters.
- Mike Gascoigne - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:31 am:
I don’t mind Pritzker, but I am hoping she chooses Beshear. I think he has the widest appeal of all the candidates. But we will see.
- TJ - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:32 am:
I think that Beshear or Walz are the best options in terms of being vice president, but man alive I can’t imagine turning down the governor of Pennsylvania as a running mate option in 2024 for the purposes of getting to 270 electoral votes.
- An Idea - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:33 am:
He is the type of guy that would appeal to people in CA, IL or NY and thats it, he has the money to run for a position anywhere in the country if he wanted to yet he chose to run here as it was the path of least resistance.
The smart pick is Shapiro, but given his school choice ideas I would assume he is picked solely to deliver PA.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:44 am:
Harris needs a swing state win in addition to a capable and likable ticket balancer. Pritzker would help with #2 but not #1.
- Gravitas - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:47 am:
Pritzker is not a serious contender for the Vice Presidential spot. Illinois is not in play as a battleground state. Harris needs to select a moderate from a contested state. Since Minnesota, a usually reliable state for the Democrats, may be in play for the first time in decades, I expect Walz to be given serious consideration.
- Roman - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:53 am:
== given his school choice ideas I would assume he is picked solely to deliver PA. ==
No doubt, Shapiro chief asset is his ability to deliver PA. But his school choice stance can be a political asset too, albeit a much smaller one. It’s a general election, not a primary. Anything that helps place the ticket in the middle of the ideological spectrum (like Harris’ background as a prosecutor) is a plus in swing states. And it’s not like the teachers unions would suddenly support Trump-Vance because of Shapiro’s lack of purity.
- Nick Name - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 9:59 am:
If current polling trends continue, Harris is going to have the battleground states sewn up by November. I don’t think she necessarily needs a running mate from a battleground state.
And by the way, Walz is not a moderate.
- levivotedforjudy - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 10:01 am:
To me, JB’s temperament, vision, consistency and ability to get things done are fantastic. But IL is the wrong home state for a Harris VP pick. This is raising is profile nationally a lot. If Mark Kelly was a governor he would be a lock. I like Kelly but expect it to go to a governor (PA or Minn).
- dtownresident - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 10:18 am:
I would prefer Kelley or Walz. JB is the first governor in over 20 years to actually govern. May not agree with things but that alone has helped the state and having that change now would hurt.
- Cat lady - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 10:21 am:
Nick Name, polling has proven to be unreliable over the last few cycles but typically underestimates Dems performances. If the current polling is Harris’s floor, then you are correct that securing a swing state is unnecessary. And yes, Walz is pretty progressive but presents like a moderate, which seems quite ideal.
- Alton Sinkhole - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 10:34 am:
Pritzker is not going to be the pick nor should he be but hoping his team is having fun
- Leap Day William - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 11:05 am:
Does the VP from a swing state really help deliver though? Looking back at the last 8 presidential elections, these are the VP candidates for the two major parties:
2020: Harris (California) / Pence (Indiana)
2016: Pence (Indiana) / Caine (Virginia)
2012: Biden (Delaware) / Ryan (Wisconsin)
2008: Biden (Delaware) / Palin (Alaska)
2004: Cheney (Wyoming) / Edwards (North Carolina)
2000: Cheney (Wyoming) / Lieberman (Connecticut)
1996: Gore (Tennessee) / Kemp (New York)
1992: Gore (Tennessee) / Quayle (Indiana)
1988: Quale (Indiana) / Bentsen (Texas)
I don’t know how much I would say Caine helped deliver Virginia for Hillary. Ryan certainly didn’t deliver Wisconsin for Romney and Edwards didn’t do anything for Gore, who didn’t even win his home state.
In digging into this, I did find that Bush Sr. was the last sitting Vice President to get elected President, but the last one before him was Martin Van Buren in 1836, so that’s a neat thing.
- Anonymous - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 11:11 am:
“…90 members of Illinois unions, … , signed a letter in support of Pritzker as vice president…”
Given recent issues with Teamsters, I would doubt they signed the letter.
That being said, it’s more likely they are laying the groundwork for continued support and backing from Pritzker for the rest of the campaign.
- From DaZoo - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 11:12 am:
Oops. Anonymous @ 11:11 was me.
- ChicagoVinny - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 11:13 am:
I think people weigh the swing-state thing too much. Who’s the last winning VP to hail from a swing state? Al Gore? That was 28 years ago.
- Blitz - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 11:13 am:
I hate to be this selfish, but I just don’t want Pritzker to leave his current position. When he first ran I was an extreme doubter and voted third party. Since then he has moved to a position in my mind where he would have to do something truly awful to not have my vote, he turned me around that much.
- thechampaignlife - Friday, Aug 2, 24 @ 11:17 am:
===I like Kelly but expect it to go to a governor===
Yep, he is likely too valuable in the Senate given the razor-thin majority.