Democratic voters already appear more enthusiastic with Vice President Kamala Harris poised to be at the top of the ticket. Now they want to know who she plans to pick as her running mate and already have their own favorites.
Roughly a dozen prominent Democrats have been floated as a potential number two including Governors Josh Shapiro, Roy Cooper, J.B. Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer and Tim Walz as well as Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Harris is breaking barriers as the first woman of color to become the presumptive presidential nominee on a major party ticket. She will also be the first candidate from the west coast to secure the Democratic nomination.
Her supporters at her rally Tuesday in Milwaukee signaled they’re open to the list of names that have already surfaced.
But many told DailyMail.com what is most important is picking the person who best helps her beat Donald Trump and balances the ticket. There is not a clear frontrunner on who that would be.
Democrats in the swing state of Wisconsin mentioned several prominent Democrats they would like to see as Vice President Harris’ running mate
‘I think she’s got a lot of good people that she can choose from,’ said Courtney Ryan, 40, from Madison, WI.
‘I’m hoping that she chooses a governor from a swing state that can really help with securing some additional states during the election. Roy Cooper would be a good candidate,’ Ryan said.
An average of recent polls of a Trump-Harris 2024 matchup show an extremely close race with Trump leading the vice president by less than two points. Every poll conducted since President Biden dropped out and Harris jumped in have been within the margin of error.
‘I really like Governor Roy Cooper out of North Carolina. I really like him,’ Anthony Banks, 66, from Milwaukee agreed.
‘I like Mark Kelly, but I’m leaning toward Josh Shapiro,’ responded Rosanda Arndt. ‘There’s just something about him that really resonates, and I think it would be a really nice match.’
Multiple Wisconsin Democrats told DailyMail.com they would like to see Gov. Shapiro or Sen. Kelly as the vice president’s running mate. Those to names were mentioned the most, but they were not the only contenders suggested
‘We have so much talent there that I’m pretty much comfortable with whoever they decide. It’s going to be in the best interest of the nation, and it’s nation first,’ Arndt added.
‘That’s going to be very important. I heard it floated out about Kelly,’ said Mitch Hancock from Milwaukee. ‘I think he’d be a good possibility or Whitmer from Michigan.’
‘I have some research to do. I just saw the list this morning,’ said Maria Olig. ‘I am a fan of Mark Kelly. So right now with the knowledge I have, he’s at the top of my list.‘
But Karen Siegel from Bayside, WI has her own concerns about Harris picking a senator as a running mate.
‘I heard all the names being thrown out. Josh Shapiro, the governor of North Carolina. Josh Shapiro seems good. I think it should be a governor. I don’t want t to see Kelly taken out of the Senate, so either of those I think will be good,’ Siegel said.
Arizona’s current governor is a Democrat, so if Kelly were picked, his temporary appointed replacement would likely also be a Democrat.
But at some point, there would have to be special election for a permanent replacement, and being that Arizona is both a presidential and Senate battleground state, Siegel does not want to chance who could win the seat with the Senate majority so tight.
Many Democratic voters are turning away from their dream tickets and looking toward what they believe is most realistic, but apart from the reported short list, there were a few outliers thrown in the mix.
Woman at Harris’ rally in Wisconsin wearing a shirt ‘Harris and anyone who isn’t JD Vance 2024’
‘I know it’s not going to happen, but I would love Mayor Pete, Pete Buttigieg to be vice president,’ said Neil Fulton, a history teacher from West Bend, WI.
‘But I think we might already have enough dynamics that might be working against Kamala Harris that adding another dynamic might just hurt the ticket even more,’ he added.
‘I know a lot of people have thrown out Michelle Obama and Gavin Newsom. But first of all I think Michelle, it doesn’t diversify the ticket enough. I don’t think she has any interest at all in it,’ conceded Joette Rockow from Milwaukee.
‘I think Gavin [Newsom] is a little bit farther to the left than we need, so I think somebody like Shapiro or [Kentucky Governor] Beshear or Pritzker or someone like that would be wonderful,’ she said.
Rockew believes Shapiro would be the ‘right kind of persona that she needs to fill out the ticket.’
What Democratic voters do agree on is that what is most important is the top of the ticket, and there has been a shift when it comes to enthusiasm with the shake-up.
A new CNN poll found 50 percent of those backing Harris said their vote would be in support of her rather than against Trump.
That’s a massive shift from the Trump-Biden matchup. Last month’s CNN poll found only 37 percent of Biden voters said their vote was in support of the president rather than against the ex-president.
