'About a dozen' people in contention to become Kamala Harris' running mate: report
Vice President Kamala Harris' search for a running mate is more expansive than previously reported.
According to CBS News, "about a dozen" people are being considered to join her on the ticket — many of them already widely reported, but others not.
The report says multiple sources have confirmed "that the list of candidates includes several governors: Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Tim Walz of Minnesota, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. Members of the Biden administration, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are also being considered, along with Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, among others."
Additionally, the running mate hunt, which reportedly has tapped former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder for the vetting process, also is looking at other individuals "who do not currently hold elective office" — but did not specify who those individuals are.
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The pressure to pick a "ticket-balancing" vice president has ramped up on Harris, to draw a contrast between herself and former President Donald Trump, whose selection of far-right Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has been largely panned by commentators and may even be regretted by Trump himself. He has already come under fire for his record of supporting a total nationwide ban on abortion and proclaiming that Harris gave off the vibes of a "childless cat lady" who had no stake in America's future because she had no biological children.
Harris has stepchildren through marriage.
The consideration of Buttigieg, which was reported by MSNBC earlier in the day, has been met with interest but also some skepticism from commenters on social media.
Harris herself, who served as a prosecutor, attorney general, and United States senator before running on the ticket with President Joe Biden in 2020, is under pressure to pick someone who "balances" out the ticket, in particular an elected official from a battleground state.