- The Washington Times - Monday, July 29, 2024

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris could announce her choice for running mate in as soon as a week.

Ms. Whitmer, a co-chair of the Harris campaign, told “CBS Mornings” the decision could be coming soon.

“Everything is truncated, and she’s going to make that decision probably in the next six, seven days,” she said. “I would imagine we’ll know who her running mate is and we’ll get ready for the convention.”

Ms. Whitmer said that she is not being vetted by Ms. Harris to be her second in command and is completing her term as governor.

“The vice president has got a great group of people from whom she’s going to pick her running mate, and I know that I can be the best ally on the ground in Michigan as a co-chair of this campaign as well,” she said.

Ms. Whitmer said she doesn’t think Ms. Harris needs to choose a White man as a running mate in order to win the election in November.

“I don’t agree with that,” she said when asked if a White man is key to the White House. She added that all the chief executives in her state are women, and despite being told there may be too many women on the ticket, they’ve proved it can work in the “swingiest of swing states.”

Still, the names floated as contenders for Ms. Harris’ running mate are mostly White men, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

Ms. Harris took over President Biden’s spot as the presumptive Democratic nominee after he stepped down earlier this month. No other Democrat has come forward to challenge hert, and she has support from nearly 2,000 delegates.

The Democratic National Convention starts Aug. 19, but the Democratic National Committee said it will still hold a virtual roll call vote to select its nominee by Aug. 1, a decision that was made when Mr. Biden was still the candidate. The committee also decided that Ms. Harris has until Aug. 7 to pick her running mate.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.

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