Democrats split on Harris VP pick; Shapiro and Kelly lead: Poll

Democrats are split on whom they want Vice President Harris to choose as her running mate for the presidential election, but Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly lead the pack of possible choices, according to a new poll.

The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll shared with The Hill found Shapiro most commonly named as Democratic respondents’ preference for vice president, with 15 percent support, followed closely by Kelly with 14 percent. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer followed next with 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively. 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg received 8 percent, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker received 5 percent. 

With Harris having largely coalesced Democratic support behind her candidacy for president after Biden ended his reelection bid last week, much attention has turned to whom Harris will select as her running mate to face former President Trump and his vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). 

Mark Penn, the co-director of the poll, told The Hill that voters do not have a clear choice for the running mate beyond what they have heard in media outlets, so “it’s an open playing field” for Harris. He said the objective will be to appeal to independent voters in swing states. 

“The top contenders fit the bill,” Penn said. 

Harris’s campaign began requesting vetting materials from various possible choices shortly after she launched her presidential run. The list included Shapiro, Kelly, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, along with others. 

Cooper, who received 5 percent in the poll, was under consideration before withdrawing his name Monday. Beshear received 4 percent support in the poll. 

Walz was not included in the list of possible candidates. One-quarter of Democratic respondents said they were unsure who they wanted. 

Harris is set to become the Democratic presidential nominee in the next week, as the Democratic National Committee holds a virtual roll-call vote to choose the nominee ahead of its convention in mid-August. 

Whitmer, who serves as a co-chair of the Harris campaign, said in an interview on “CBS Mornings” on Monday that she expected Harris to name her running mate in the next six or seven days. Whitmer also rejected speculation that she would be chosen, saying she knows she can be “the best ally on the ground in Michigan.”

The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey was conducted July 26-28 and surveyed 2,196 registered voters. It is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll. 

The survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. The margin of error for the entire sample was 2.1 percentage points.