US Vice President and Democratic presumptive nominee Kamala Harris will now have to pick a running mate, and she will have to do so soon.
North Carolina’s congressional delegation want their state governor, Roy Cooper, Pennsylvanian folks want their governor, Josh Shapiro. Both are swing states.
Some other Democrats want Sen Mark Kelly of Arizona and the list goes on. However, all bets say that it will be a white man, and the reason for that is obvious. Just why is that? Simply because roles like the president and vice president have traditionally been held by white males and Harris is neither white nor male, so people figure at least her running mate should be.
Ohio State University historian, Hasan Kwame Jeffries says, “White men make white people feel comfortable. That’s why 45 of the 46 presidents have been white men.”
Political scientist at the University of Florida, Sharon D Wright Austin sees Harris choosing a white running mate as her being realistic. “Harris is being realistic about racism and sexism in the country. It is the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. When people see Kamala Harris, they see a Black woman, even though she is a multicultural woman who is of Jamaican and Indian descent.”
Shapiro’s answer when he was asked if he would be interested in the vice presidential role was that he was focused on making Kamala Harris the next president of the United States. He said the chaos of Donald Trump should be avoided.
“I will tell you that I have known the vice president for nearly 20 years. We have both been prosecutors.”
Harris is expected to make the announcement on her running mate before the Democratic National Convention, which will be held from Aug 19 to Aug 22 in Chicago.
Other candidates who may be chosen by Harris include Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear, Minnesota Gov Tim Walz, Illinois Gov JB Pritzker and Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer though Whitmer is a woman and the grapevine says this may make her an unlikely candidate as Harris is seeking to strike a balance with both gender and race.
In a similar style to Shapiro, Cooper also dodged his way out of giving a direct answer when asked by MSNBC if he was interested in being the Democratic vice president.
Instead, he expressed his strong support for Harris’ candidacy.
“I appreciate people talking about me, but I think the focus needs to be on her this week,” said Cooper.
Another quiet favourite may be Tim Walz, who helped the state legislature enact paid family leave, enable abortion rights, and green-light universal free school meals.