The five white men: Who will be the VP pick for Kamala Harris?

A handful of politicians have elbowed their way through a heavily crowded field to join the front-row line-up of US vice presidential hopefuls within the Democratic Party.

Its presumptive candidate for the 2024 race, Vice President Kamala Harris, is expected to pick her running mate soon while taking into account factors like a candidate’s ability to raise campaign finance and nudge a swing state safely into the Democratic column in the November poll.

So far, nearly all frontrunners are “moderate white men” from swing states.

Here’s a quick look at some of the names being considered for a position that places them just a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States.

Mark Kelly: The ‘American hero’

Sixty-year-old Kelly is a sitting US senator from the state of Arizona. He’s cultivated the persona of an American hero for his stint in the US Navy as a pilot and his experience as a NASA astronaut.

His entry into mainstream politics was accidental as his wife, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, became a target of an assassination attempt in 2011.

His campaign for stricter gun control has been a centrepiece of his politics, which draws heavy support from white suburban women as well as young Latino voters—a unique coalition that helped him deliver the Sun Belt state to Joe Biden in 2020.

He’s a top VP pick apparently because of his ability to speak convincingly on immigration—a political hot potato in the 2024 race. The Republican Party is mobilising its support base around the border security issue, which directly concerns southern states like Arizona.

Andy Beshear: The moderate candidate

The 46-year-old governor of Kentucky is among the frontrunners for being a consensus politician in a deeply Republican state. He won the gubernatorial contest first in 2019 and then again in 2023 as he attempted to bridge the party divide in a predominantly white and conservative state in the American heartland.

If selected, Beshear’s name on the ticket will serve to persuade White suburban Americans into voting for Harris, who’s being portrayed by the Republicans as an extreme left, out-of-touch politician unsuitable for the top job.

His unique appeal within the Democratic Party is partly because of his years-long campaign for abortion rights.

Josh Shapiro: It’s all about numbers

Elected governor of Pennsylvania in 2022, the 51-year-old Shapiro rose to prominence quickly as he won 56 percent of the vote against his Republican opponent.

Pennsylvania is among the most important states in the presidential election because of its 19 electoral votes.

His presence on the presidential ticket will help cement the Democratic Party’s position in the Commonwealth—a move that can potentially tip the national scale in favour of Harris in November.

However, his selection as a VP candidate can also have some downside for the ticket. As a Jewish American, Shapiro “denounced” the alleged rise in antisemitism in the US and has been described as pro-Israel.

JB Pritzker: The rainmaker

The 59-year-old governor of Illinois is a likely VP pick even though he comes from a safely Democratic state that’s certain to vote for whoever runs as the presidential candidate against Donald Trump.

The reason for Pritzker’s growing prominence in the Democratic Party is his ability to mobilise funds as a billionaire—a quality that’s critical as Democrats fight a Republican candidate backed by big businesses and entrepreneurs with deep pockets.

He has launched aggressive attacks on Trump in recent weeks. His record on contentious issues like gun violence and abortion has also endeared him to the who’s who of the Democratic Party.

Pete Buttigieg: The diversity pick

A former mayor of a college town in Indiana and current transportation secretary, 42-year-old Buttigieg shot to global fame when he beat Biden and a host of other presidential nomination candidates in the Iowa caucuses of the Democratic Party in 2020.

The former naval officer and Rhodes Scholar dropped out of the race, endorsed Biden and joined the federal cabinet. He’s considered a good debater. He’s among the very few cabinet members who regularly appear on pro-Republican Fox News to defend policies of the Biden administration.