In the United States, citizens elect the president and vice president. The candidate proposes a substitute in case he or she is absent for any reason.
Vice presidents are usually recruited from among governors and senators who have already been re-elected and who enjoy some popularity. They are also expected to be complementary to the presidential candidate: of a different sex, age, race, region or party faction. This is intended to achieve some additional advantage.
As in beauty pageants, the selection process is very difficult because each candidate has unique characteristics: attractiveness and defects that must be assessed. Negotiation is usually carried out slowly and prudently, and those who are discarded receive some compensation to maintain the unity of the party.
The extraordinary circumstances facing the Democratic Party have made this process extremely complicated for Kamala Harris. In just a few weeks, she had to find a running mate who, rather than adding new electoral segments, would not deepen the divisions that were unleashed by Biden’s resignation.
Long-standing and highly popular figures such as California Governor Gavin Newson and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer did not even consider the possibility at first. They see Kamala as a rookie and believe they can make it to the White House later.
Then there was Jay Pritzker (governor of Illinois) and Pete Buttigieg (secretary of transportation), who have let their political ambitions run wild. Choosing one over the other would have caused a stampede.
There were also interesting prospects who were little known and lacked traction outside their home state. These include Andy Beshear (governor of Kentucky), Roy Cooper (governor of North Carolina) and Raphael Warnock (senator for Georgia).
Few options
In reality, Kamala only had to choose from: Mark Kelly, Josh Shapiro and Tim Walz.
Mark Kelly (senator from Arizona) is a former Navy pilot who served as a NASA astronaut and is well-liked in and outside of his state. His wife, Gabby Giffords, was seriously injured in a shooting in 2011 and is a vocal advocate for the gun control movement.
The problem with Kelly is that he favors a hard line on illegal immigration and supports union freedom laws. In his state, that makes him very popular; outside, it puts him at odds with undocumented immigrants and unions.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has had an impressive political career: state representative, county commissioner, attorney general, and two years as governor, with very good approval ratings. With moderate positions, he has pushed his initiatives through a Republican-dominated Congress.
He communicates very well on television and on social media and has important donors. In addition, his state has the most electoral votes among those that are key in the November race.
The problem with Shapiro is that he is too closely associated with the Israeli cause. He was there as a volunteer on a kibbutz and in order to do his military service, he worked at the Israeli embassy in Washington and, as a congressman, he supported laws favorable to that nation.
When student protests against Israeli retaliation in Gaza erupted, he compared protesters to the Ku Klux Klan and pushed for the resignation of the president of the University of Pennsylvania for tolerating anti-Semitism on campus. All this at a time when a portion of the young vote views Biden’s position on the situation in Gaza as weak.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz grew up in a small town and spent more than 20 years as a geography teacher and football coach at a rural high school. He also served as a reservist in the National Guard.
He then entered politics and served six terms in the House of Representatives, where he had a prominent role in the Veterans and Agriculture committees. As governor, he has distinguished himself by his populist policies, which have attracted the sympathies of the populist wing of his party.
His main advantage is that he connects very well with the average American. He has the authentic candor of the Midwest and his main flaw (being loose-lipped) becomes an asset compared to the bluster of JD Vance, his Republican counterpart.
Kamala selected him almost without knowing him, purely by intuition and with the aim of cementing her alliance with the progressives.
