(Reuters) – Vice President Kamala Harris will tour battleground states next week with her vice presidential candidate, two sources familiar with the planning said yesterday, a signal the selection process for her running mate is coming to a close.
The high-stakes decision of who will run with Harris has taken center-stage since she became the Democratic frontrunner for the November election, after U.S. President Joe Biden ended his White House bid just over a week ago.
Harris will announce her vice presidential pick before next week’s tour of states that could swing to Republicans or Democrats in November, one of the sources said.
The short list of candidates under consideration include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
On Monday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer both indicated they were both out of the VP sweepstakes.
A handful of U.S. states, often called battlegrounds, have decided the presidential election in recent years, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
