PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Tomorrow, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to kick off her seven-city “Battleground State Tour” from Philadelphia.
Politico reports she will announce her vice-presidential running mate Tuesday morning.
One of the top contenders is currently Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
This comes after Harris officially received the Democratic party’s nomination for president.
The Associated Press reports Harris interviewed several political running mates over the weekend, including Governor Shapiro.
Dr. Stephen Medvic from Franklin and Marshall College says her choice for VP could sway major swing states like Pennsylvania.
“They’re hoping that they have enough excitement from the base, that the base will turn out in large enough numbers to help deliver the key battleground states, but it is always important to reach out to the swing voters,” Medvic said.
One name at the top of Harris’s shortlist is Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
Shippensburg University Professor Alison Dagnes says Kelly could help Harris resonate with voters outside the northeast.
“He won his senate race against a very-very MAGA candidate, so he’s ready to do political battle with JD Vance if he is selected and I think both of those things are really big booms for his name being floated,” Dagnes said.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is another name that's being floated.
Walz’s gubernatorial experience could make him an ideal candidate to complement Harris’s years in politics.
But Dagnes says it may be his ability to appeal to younger voters that clinches him the ticket.
“His meme game is hot, his lowkey trolling is really good, and he is able to bring a sharp criticism against the Republican ticket in a way that is playful and also pointed.”
But maybe the most familiar name on the list is Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
“The pick of Josh Shapiro as vice presidential running mate I think is a little bit more important this year than a generic vice-presidential pick is overall,” Dagnes said.
Shapiro has been campaigning for Harris over the last few weeks, though has avoided questions about potentially joining the democratic ticket.
Dagnes says his understanding of policymaking could be invaluable to the Harris campaign
“He also is a very pragmatic politician, he wants to work with the left and the right in order to accomplish his policy goals and in order to, as he says, ‘get stuff done.’”
“Pick somebody who is going to be safe that when the voters look at them, they go, ‘Yeah that makes sense, that’s a reasonable pick,'” Medvic added.
Historically, a VP pick doesn’t guarantee the state from where the candidate is from.
In 2020, President Biden won Pennsylvania by a little more than 80,000 votes, less than two percentage points of the state.
Once done in Philly, Harris will head to several other battleground states for campaign events including Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada to name a few.