Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will appear at a campaign rally in Philadelphia where she will reportedly introduce her vice presidential candidate after having interviews with each of them.
Harris’ campaign plans to announce her running mate for the November election, possibly via video message before the rally, though the exact timing is unclear, according to a person involved in the rally’s organization who spoke anonymously to The Associated Press.
A mystery the announcement
If the vice president is introducing the candidate in this way, she would be doing so in a similar way to when Joe Biden revealed that Harris was his vice presidential choice in 2020.
Since President Joe Biden withdrew from his re-election race and announced that Kamala Harris would be the best choice to take his place, the Democratic Party has had a great respite and is confident in the ability of the one who has already been named the Democratic candidate.
Following the campaign rally in Philadelphia, Harris and her running mate will spend the next five days traveling across the country, touring key battleground states. According to AP, they will visit Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Detroit on Wednesday.
Candidate’s agenda
The stop in Savannah, Georgia, was postponed due to the effects of Tropical Storm Debby, and rain could also disrupt the visit to Durham, North Carolina. Later in the week, Harris and her partner will head to Phoenix and Las Vegas.
The Democratic candidate’s campaign plans to invite religious leaders, union members and state and local elected officials to participate in upcoming events, the news agency said.
Harris and her running mate will also appear in stadiums and on college campuses to bring their message to the public.
It is worth noting that in a recent CBS News/YouGov poll, candidate Harris is slightly leading nationally over former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump. Harris is said to have the support of 50% of voters surveyed, while Trump has 49%.
Possible candidates
The Washington Post reported that the vice president met in Washington with three of the possible candidates and spoke with them. According to the newspaper, those who attended were Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
Josh Shapiro, 51, has seen his popularity grow in the Democratic Party since he won the 2022 gubernatorial election by more than 14 points over his Republican rival.
Shapiro could hold the key to Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes. He has been a vocal advocate of reproductive rights (a key issue in Harris’ campaign), voting rights and the legalization of marijuana.
Shapiro has also pledged to push for measures related to health coverage for breast cancer screenings and free food and meal programs for public school students.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is a former Navy aviator and astronaut who entered politics seeking greater gun control after his wife, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was seriously injured in a shooting in 2011.
Kelly, 60, has twice demonstrated that he can win in Arizona, a state bordering Mexico where immigration will be the focus of his campaign.
After being selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1996, Kelly made his first of four trips as pilot of STS-108 in December 2001.
Tim Walz, 60, a former member of the U.S. Army National Guard and a former teacher, whose name was not in the early betting pool but emerged strongly after several public appearances, including one in which he called Republican rivals “weird.”
Walz is probably the most progressive candidate, positioned to the left of Harris, and could attract working-class voters from the Midwest’s industrial belt.
Keep reading:
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- Kamala Harris reacts to Trump’s remarks about her racial identity