Janice R. Andrews
WASHINGTON — Despite their long-standing desire to avoid it, the bitter, cutthroat primary has finally come, with much of the action taking place behind closed doors in a battle for the lowest spot on the ticket.
In recent days, the race to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate entered a somewhat ugly phase as donors, interest groups, and rival politicians from the party’s progressive and moderate wings circulated memos arguing the candidates’ political shortcomings with regard to important demographics and lobbied for their chosen candidates. Most dramatically, they flipped on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who was one of the front-runners to join the ticket and has faced criticism from progressives and even a senator from his home state.
The divisions among Democrats became apparent when Harris’s team stated that a selection will be made by Tuesday after three of the front-runners, Shapiro, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, visited with her on Sunday at her home in Washington. A spokesman for the Harris campaign named Kevin Munoz declined to comment on the discussions.
Whether or not Shapiro is her choice, Harris and her running partner are slated to join the campaign route this week. They will begin a five-day, seven-state tour with a Tuesday night event in Philadelphia.
Shapiro and Kelly have been the target of criticism from progressive groups, who claim that they are overly conservative on important matters. In a Sunday interview on CBS, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain stated that the union had “bigger issues” with Shapiro’s support for school vouchers and that Kelly had “not really” allayed their fears about his commitment to pro-labor legislation.
Though there are disagreements among the largest Democratic donors, some have said that they would be okay with any of the candidates on Harris’ list of finalists. Concerns over Shapiro have sparked a heated discussion among left-wing contributors on a Democracy Alliance email list.
Through the Gamechanger Salon email group, a different group of progressive activists has spoken out against Shapiro and encouraged its members to draw attention to his views on the Israel-Hamas conflict. When it was discussed whether it was antisemitic to refer to Shapiro—an observant Jew—as “Genocide Josh,” the argument became intense. Rebranding the email chain as “Why Josh Shapiro should not be the VP,” the organizer appealed for composure. A few of the emails also urged recipients to support Walz, who has grown to be a favorite among the party’s most liberal donors—roughly sixty of whom he met with on Friday.
In one communication, Billy Wimsatt, the executive director of the leftist donor organization Movement Voter Project, warned that Shapiro would discourage progressive voters who are opposed to the war from voting. In an email exchange provided by The New York Times, he said, “He risks significantly depressing enthusiasm for the Harris ticket among key constituencies of young voters, Arab and Muslim voters, and to some degree labor.” “Right now, Tim Walz is the ideal Harris vice president unicorn.”
According to two people who have spoken with him, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has long been at odds with Shapiro, has also voiced his disapproval at the idea of the governor being promoted to a national ticket. Politico was the first to report on a scenario in which one of his advisors phoned the Harris campaign to voice opposition to Shapiro. Shapiro’s spokesman, Manuel Bonder, declined to comment on the selection process for vice president.
Some party moderates and some in the news media have criticized the increasing attacks against Shapiro. In a strong defense of the Pennsylvania governor on social media, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough claimed that the recent criticism of him was the result of “a toxic mix of antisemitism, extremist views on Gaza, and jealous colleagues who don’t want to be blocked out of the presidential sweepstakes for the next decade.”
Recently, a group of progressive funders has been pushing for Walz. In an attempt to influence Harris, Democratic strategists such as Wimsatt and Doran Schrantz, an advisor to Faith in Minnesota PAC, have been circulating a letter titled “The Case for Tim Walz for Vice President” over the last week. Last week, Democrats, including significant contributors, received a similar memo praising Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was the featured speaker at a Harris event in New Hampshire on Saturday.
Kelly strangely announced on social media on Sunday that he will now be concentrating on his home state. The post was then removed. “My upbringing differs slightly from that of most politicians.” Kelly penned the letter. “The mission always comes first, and I have served in the Navy and at NASA for my whole life. My current goal is to assist Arizonans. According to Jacob Peters, Kelly’s spokeswoman, the tweet was removed because it was being interpreted incorrectly.
Shapiro has become the preferred candidate of the party’s pro-Israel funders, including those connected to the school-choice movement and Silicon Valley business associates. However, the party’s most liberal funders find him to be the least popular due to his moderate policies that appeal to those groups.
A candidate who seems to be a compromise, like Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who is well-liked by the party’s more liberal and centrist funders, may also wind up as the nominee. According to two persons briefed on Beshear’s actions, he has been auditioning for several significant contributors over the past two weeks. These donors have been anxious to see him in action and have scheduled an invite-only session for Friday evening. Although it is unknown if Beshear took part in Harris’s last interviews on Sunday, he was seen outside the governor’s house in Frankfort, Kentucky, with his labradoodle, Winnie. Asked about his plans for the day, Beshear said, “Just walking the dog this morning.”
On Monday night, Walz and Beshear are scheduled to attend opposing, concurrent fundraisers for Harris. As of Sunday night, tickets for Walz’s presentation in Minneapolis were sold out; however, there were still seats available for Beshear’s engagement in Chicago. Harris would most certainly have made up his mind by then.
