Democrats are divided over whom Vice President Harris should nominate as her running mate for the presidential election, but a new poll shows Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly leading the pack.
According to the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll obtained by The Hill, Shapiro was the most frequently named vice presidential candidate by Democratic respondents, with 15 percent support, closely followed by Kelly with 14 percent. They were followed by California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, with 11 and 10 percent, respectively.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg received 8 percent and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker received 5 percent.
After Biden ended his re-election bid last week, Harris was able to largely unite Democratic support behind her presidential bid. Now, much of the attention is focused on who Harris will nominate as her running mate for the presidential nomination against former President Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio).
Mark Penn, the poll’s co-leader, told The Hill that voters had no clear choice for vice presidential candidate beyond what they heard in the media, so “anything is possible” for Harris. He said the goal would be to appeal to independent voters in swing states.
“The top candidates meet the requirements,” Penn said.
Shortly after Harris launched her presidential bid, her campaign began requesting vetting documents from several candidates, including Shapiro, Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and others.
Cooper, who received 5 percent in the poll, was initially considered as a candidate before he withdrew his candidacy on Monday. Beshear received 4 percent support in the poll.
Walz was not on the list of possible candidates. A quarter of Democratic respondents said they were not sure who they wanted.
Harris is expected to become the Democratic presidential nominee over the next week as the Democratic National Committee holds a virtual roll call vote to choose its nominee ahead of its convention in mid-August.
Whitmer, who serves as co-chair of Harris’ campaign team, said in an interview on “CBS Mornings” on Monday that she expects Harris to name her running mate in the next six or seven days. Whitmer also dismissed speculation that she could be chosen, saying she knows she can be “the best ally on the ground in Michigan.”
The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey was conducted July 26-28 and surveyed 2,196 registered voters. It is a collaboration between Harvard University’s Center for American Political Studies and the Harris Poll.
The poll is an online sample from the Harris Panel, weighted to reflect known demographic characteristics. The margin of error for the entire sample was 2.1 percentage points.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports and streaming video, visit The Hill.
