Kamala Harris is interviewing six potential vice presidents

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at a Sigma Gamma Rho sorority meeting in Houston, July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Vice President Kamala Harris is interviewing a half-dozen potential running mates this weekend ahead of a formal announcement and battleground tour with her new No. 2 next week.

The list of interviewees includes Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota, as well as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, according to two people with knowledge of Harris’ selection process. The people requested anonymity to discuss private campaign deliberations.

Shapiro and Kelly had been considered among the front-runners during the brief selection process, which began with the evaluation of a dozen names. Some have publicly withdrawn from consideration, such as North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who is close to Harris from their time together as state attorneys general but has expressed concern about regularly traveling out of state if she were to be on the national Democratic ticket.

His deadline to choose a running mate is effectively Tuesday, when Harris will begin a tour of seven key battleground states, starting in Philadelphia.

This composite, from left, shows Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, center, on July 3, 2024, in Washington; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., on June 4, 2024, in Washington; Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, on July 20, 2024, in Pittsburgh; and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, in Frankfort, Ky., on July 22, 2024. As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to announce her running mate, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that several of the leading potential candidates for the office are largely unknown to voters. (AP Photo)

President Joe Biden told reporters Friday that he had spoken with Harris about his search for a vice presidential nominee, but when asked if she had any advice on what qualities he should look for in a running mate, the president publicly hesitated.

“I’ll let her figure that out,” Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House before leaving for Wilmington, Delaware, for the weekend.

Some of the people on Harris’ shortlist abruptly canceled their plans for this weekend, signaling that something might be afoot in the vice presidential selection process. For example, Shapiro canceled three weekend fundraisers in coastal communities on Long Island, New York, and his press secretary, Manuel Bonder, offered little explanation as to why.

“The governor’s trip had been planned for several weeks and included several fundraising activities for his own campaign committee,” Bonder said in a statement. “His schedule has changed and he will no longer be traveling to the Hamptons this weekend.”

Michael Kempner, a member of President Joe Biden’s national finance committee, was set to host a fundraiser for Shapiro. Kempner said in a note to guests that the meeting had been postponed and openly advocated for Shapiro to be Harris’ No. 2, writing that “many are speculating that this is a sign that he will be the vice president.”

Meanwhile, a video posted on social media by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, who publicly supports Shapiro for vice president, caused a stir on Friday. It showed several Philadelphia-area officials and Democrats promoting Harris for president but also promoting Shapiro for vice president, suggesting to some that Parker might have inside knowledge about Harris’ decision.

But a person familiar with the mayor’s thinking said the video was simply a show of the mayor’s support for both Harris and the possibility of Shapiro, a friend of Parker’s, as her vice presidential running mate. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

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