Staff Reports
The political forecast in Washington just took a rather amusing turn with President Joe Biden making an unexpected exit from the 2024 race, paving the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to swoop in and claim the Democratic nomination faster than a cat on a hot tin roof. Within a mere three days of Biden’s exit, Harris had managed to gather an impressive stash of delegates, leaving her rivals scrambling for relevance and wondering where they went wrong.
As if that whirlwind moment weren’t enough, Harris has already started the search for a running mate. However, a notable name that many assumed would grace the list has inexplicably been crossed off. Wall Street Journal reporter Ken Thomas took to X to gleefully share the roster of individuals Harris is eyeing for vice presidential vetting: Roy Cooper from North Carolina, Arizona’s Mark Kelly, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Tim Walz from Minnesota, and J.D. Pritzker hailing from Illinois. No points for guessing who’s notably missing from this list of heavy hitters.
Harris' campaign has requested vetting materials from potential VPs, including Cooper (NC), Kelly (AZ), Shapiro (PA), Whitmer (MI), Walz (MN) + Pritzker (IL), according to a person familiar. Beshear told CNN he hasn't been asked to submit info at this point.
— Ken Thomas (@KThomasDC) July 23, 2024
Meanwhile, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear found himself in a spot of fun after Harris reached out directly once Biden exited stage left. Despite the tempting allure of the VP position, Beshear boldly claimed he wouldn’t consider it unless it somehow benefited the good people of Kentucky. What a noble perspective! However, there’s a lurking irony here. If he truly believes he could only help his home state from a perch in Frankfort, he may want to reconsider just how high one can fly with the VP title. Besides, if anyone could wade through the swamp of partisanship in Washington, one might expect the second-in-command to take a crack at it.
Harris’s breakneck ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket has left other candidates choking on her dust. The Associated Press has verified that she already has more than enough delegates to secure the nomination—something like 2,214 when only 1,976 were needed. Surprisingly, Harris expressed a heartwarming sentiment of pride about her campaign’s success while simultaneously fending off chatter among restless Democrats advocating for an open primary. Apparently, even in the land of liberalism, some factions aren’t convinced that Harris can hold her own against a formidable opponent like Donald Trump.
And therein lies the rub. By seizing the nomination with such reckless speed, Harris may have inadvertently left a pile of worried Democrats in her wake. Early polling data suggests she trails Trump, as if she were racing a tortoise, but who knows what 104 days of media stress-testing could do? Perhaps there’s a glimmer of hope that the relentless media could spin those numbers in her favor, even if that spin cycle might require superhuman effort. After all, with the right amount of nitrous oxide, anything could happen in this wild race to the White House.
