The Sunday shows were eager to read the tea leaves, no matter how sparse, as Vice President Kamala Harris races toward selecting her running mate this week. But they didn’t get much help from their scheduled guests, none of whom were Democrats connected to the likely choices.
Harris has roughly just 48 hours to go until taking the stage with her pick at a rally in Philadelphia before embarking on a rapid-fire tour of six other swing states: Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia.
Several top contenders have met in recent days with Harris’ vetting team, which is being spearheaded by former Attorney General Eric Holder and has had roughly two weeks to comb through candidates’ old campaign ads, recent media appearances, years of financial records, family histories and questionnaires submitted to Harris’ team.
Three finalists — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz —were to meet Harris at the Naval Observatory on Sunday in face-to-face sitdowns that will likely serve as their final test.
The candidates, along with others who have been floated as possible picks such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, were notably absent from the airwaves on Sunday, as were most leading Democrats. The figures and lawmakers who did appear offered their two cents as outsiders to the shielded process — and pundits took a stab at theorizing Harris’ pick.
“My favorite is Andy Beshear from Kentucky. The man stood with us on the picket line. He’s been there for workers throughout every bit of our walk,” United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “I just believe he brings a huge dynamic, and I believe a Harris-Beshear ticket would be unbeatable.”
Fain also offered his praise for Walz, describing him as an “awesome guy for labor.” When asked about Shapiro and Kelly, however, he said he saw the Democrats’ respective records on school vouchers and the PRO Act as an issue.
Shapiro and Kelly, both moderates from key battlegrounds, have risen as favorites among those who see a priority in securing their states’ electoral votes. Walz has begun building a national profile for himself by making his rounds on TV and appealing to Democrats across the spectrum — all while the candidates have faced public scrutiny.
Last week, Kelly said he would support the PRO Act, a pro-union legislation co-sponsored by most Senate Democrats, after organized labor circles raised concerns over his initial lack of support amid VP speculation. Even with the backing of several Philadelphia unions, Shapiro’s record on private school vouchers has been unpopular among some teachers unions in his own state. And, his comments on Israel have angered some on the party’s left flank.
Meanwhile, some have criticized Walz as too progressive and see his state as less competitive and therefore not as valuable to the ticket.
On ABC’s “This Week,” Donna Brazile, a political strategist who served twice as acting Chair of the Democratic National Committee, revealed she had a “couple of favorites” but declined to provide any specific endorsement. Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, however, went all in on Shapiro.
He said he believed Harris should select someone who is more moderate than her and has governing experience at the ground level.
“It should be Josh Shapiro. I don’t think this is a hard choice. He’s a very talented politician. He’s extraordinarily popular, 65 percent job approval in a state she needs to win,” Christie said, adding, “If she picks Shapiro on Tuesday, Donald Trump created Josh Shapiro.”
Christie, who opposed Trump in the 2024 primaries, cited the fact that in the Pennsylvania governor race in 2022, Trump endorsed state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who he described as the “weakest Republican candidate in that field.” This allowed Shapiro to get a leg up on Mastriano and seize the opportunity for a “coalition-building election,” Christie said. Shapiro won by 15 percentage points.
CNN Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten said the numbers are also tilting in Shapiro’s favor, although he clarified that vice presidential nominees historically have a minimal effect on voters. He pointed to one measurable, yet small, effect: home state advantage.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you’re a Democrat that adds half a point or a point to your margin in a state that Joe Biden won last time around by 1.2 points? That’s the math that Harris is dealing with right now,” Enten said on “Inside Politics.” “Of course, we’ll see if she’s doing the same math I am or she’s just in a completely different equation.”
Geoff Duncan, the former Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, said in a panel on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Harris has “de-risked” her finalist list and removed all potential liability: “There’s no chance of her doing a JD Vance selection.” Speaking about his party, he highlighted that Republicans would be most threatened to see Shapiro as a near guarantee of Pennsylvania for the Democrats.
But commentator Shermichael Singleton pushed back on Shapiro as the best pick, expressing concerns that Muslim voters in Michigan and younger progressives would be critical of his previous statements about Palestinians and Israel.
POLITICO reported Saturday that one of Shapiro’s Democratic rivals in his state, Sen. John Fetterman, is concerned about Harris picking the Pennsylvania governor and his advisers have relayed those worries to Harris. Fetterman’s advisers told the vice president’s team that Shapiro is too focused on his personal ambitions, people familiar with the conversations said.
Harris is expected to make her choice as soon as Monday — and in the meantime, the rumor mill will continue to run rampant. Democrats’ hunger for clues spiraled earlier this week when several contenders switched up their weekend schedules last minute, with Shapiro backing out of a fundraising swing through the Hamptons, Buttigieg cutting short a trip to Indiana and Beshear canceling a scheduled visit to a distillery in Kentucky.
A Harris campaign aide previously cautioned against reading too much into the first city of the vice president’s VP tour in the capital of Shapiro’s home state. Beyond defeating Trump, Harris is reported to be prioritizing selecting someone she sees as a strong governing partner.
Jared Mitovich and Irie Sentner contributed to this report.
