US election campaign: Harris secures candidacy – who will be her vice president?

US Democrat Kamala Harris has secured her party’s presidential nomination and wants to start a campaign tour with a new vice president in the coming days. In an online vote by the Democrats for the nomination for the presidential election in November, Harris received the necessary majority of delegate votes, the party announced. Harris will therefore run against former Republican President Donald Trump in the election in November. In the coming days, the 54-year-old now wants to introduce a vice presidential candidate and go on a blitz trip with her partner through the seven most contested states.

Early nomination

For bureaucratic reasons, the Democrats had brought forward their candidate selection – before the start of a major party convention in Chicago in mid-August – and conducted the vote via digital voting. This has to do with the deadlines in the states by which the parties must have confirmed their candidates in order to be on the ballot.

Voting began on Thursday via the party’s online platform, where convention delegates from all states could cast their votes. Voting will continue for several days, but Harris secured the necessary majority of votes from the approximately 4,000 delegates early on. She was the only candidate in the digital vote – her nomination was therefore considered a formality.

Harris said she felt honored. “It won’t be easy, but we will get through it,” she said, looking ahead to the rest of the campaign and the actual election on November 5. “I know we are up to the fight.”

Choosing the right partner

Now everything is focused on the question of who she will bring to her side as her vice president. The Washington Post reported, citing people close to Harris, that the Democrat wants to hold talks with her potential partners over the weekend and then make a decision. The selection of a so-called running mate in the US presidential election campaign is usually a complicated and time-consuming process that now has to be carried out at a rapid pace. Harris was chosen as a candidate at extremely short notice when US President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race.

Harris’ campaign team has already announced a campaign tour with the new vice president for the coming week through the seven most contested states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. In these so-called swing states, it is not clear in advance whether the Republican or Democratic candidate will win, based on tradition. These states are therefore decisive in the election.

For this reason, Harris wants to visit these seven states with her vice president before the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22. The duo’s first campaign rally is planned for Tuesday evening (local time) – in German time on Wednesday night – in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Harris must therefore announce her vice president by Tuesday at the latest.

These six Democrats are considered the most promising candidates:

Josh Shapiro

The 51-year-old has been governor of the swing state of Pennsylvania since 2023. Before that, he was the state’s attorney general. Shapiro is relatively new to the national political stage. Shapiro is considered to be rather moderate and is very popular. He has been considered for higher office for some time.

Mark Kelly

The 60-year-old is a former astronaut and has already won the Senate seat in the swing state of Arizona twice – a huge success for the Democrats. Kelly is also known to Americans because he is the husband of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She struggled to get back to life after an assassination attempt in 2011 and is one of the loudest campaigners for stricter gun laws.

Tim Walz

The 60-year-old has been governor of the state of Minnesota since 2019 and previously served for many years as a member of the House of Representatives. Before his political career, he was a teacher. The father of two does not have a strong national profile, but is known for his down-to-earth manner and direct way of conveying political messages.

Pete Buttigieg

The 42-year-old caused a sensation in 2020 as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Today he is Secretary of Transportation in Biden’s cabinet, making him the first openly gay federal minister in the USA. In recent years he has been able to distribute large sums of money in infrastructure investments across the country. Buttigieg speaks several languages, is quick-witted and has long been considered the party’s great hope.

Andy Beshear

The 46-year-old is the governor of the state of Kentucky. In the state, people usually vote for the Republican candidate in the presidential election. Beshear is said to have bipartisan appeal. Before becoming governor, he was the state’s attorney general. Beshear’s father was also governor of Kentucky.

JB Pritzker

The 59-year-old is the governor of Illinois – a state that is firmly in the hands of the Democrats. The billionaire comes from a wealthy family of entrepreneurs. The lawyer has invested in tech start-ups and is also considered to be well connected within the party. However, he is not particularly well known nationally.