Republicans, pay attention to who Harris picks for VP. One of them should scare us.

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Republicans, pay attention to who Harris picks for VP. One of them should scare us.

Vice President Kamala Harris has a difficult decision in front of her. Now that she

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to become the Democrats’ nominee for president, she has to choose her running mate.

The Harris campaign has reportedly

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North Carolina Gov.

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, Minnesota Gov.

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, Pennsylvania Gov.

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and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. There are also reports that U.S. Secretary of Transportation

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, Kentucky Gov.

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and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker are under consideration.

Names like Tim Walz and Roy Cooper strike me as uninspired picks out of the gate.

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, has immense baggage from his time

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that ravaged Minnesota.

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, simply falls victim to his own age, which Democrats should seek to avoid in contrast with JD Vance, the *********** vice presidential nominee

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.

Harris’ campaign officials seem to be learning from their opponent’s mistake and is genuinely pursuing a VP choice that will expand the coalition behind them, unlike

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‘s decision to select a MAGA protégé in Vance.

I’m a ************* who doesn’t plan on voting for Trump in November. However, if I were, some of these names would concern me a lot more than others. One in particular should worry Trump and conservatives hoping to win back the White House.

Republicans can beat Harris on policy: Biden is out, but Trump, GOP won’t have to change their message. Harris isn’t much better.

Donald Trump should hope Kamala Harris picks one of these people for her vice presidential candidatedata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Vice President Kamala Harris, now the likely Democratic presidential nominee, delivers the keynote speech at the ********* Federation of Teachers’ convention in Houston on July 25, 2024.

J.B. Pritzker: While I’m a bit biased as a former Illinois resident (a ************* one at that), my view is that Pritzker is a generic, wealthy politician who has overseen

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,

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and some of the most totalitarian

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in the nation. He adds no benefit of being beloved in a swing state and is vulnerable on all the issues I outlined above, as well as many more. Republicans would likely dismantle Pritzker on his record as governor, and he has few ***** to make up for that fact. They should want Harris to pick him.

Pete Buttigieg: He would be a remarkably weak choice. Many argue that his being a gay person is the reason why, but I actually don’t see that as a major difference-maker for Democratic voters anymore. Instead, I think his stint as a

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of South Bend, Indiana, or going on paternity leave amid a

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he had responsibility for gives Republicans very real talking points. Warranted or not, his job following the 2020 primary cycle was to remain in the background, and he ******* at doing so. Trump and other conservatives would have plenty of material to go after him with.

Conservatives should worry about these two optionsdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., is one of the few members of Congress being floated as a vice presidential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Andy Beshear: The governor of Kentucky could pose some unique issues for the Trump campaign if he were selected. He was able to

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last year in a state that Trump won by

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in 2020, even as conservatives won up and down the ballot. He maintains

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, with more than two-thirds of Kentuckians having a favorable view of him. Beshear is only less of a threat to conservatives because of a couple of drawbacks. He’s not from a swing state, it’s unclear how he polls outside of Kentucky (where his family is a

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) and he comes from what has

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as a “silver spoon” upbringing. None of this contrasts well with Vance, who is a political outsider who “bootstrapped” his way into the spotlight and is a senator in Ohio, a swing state.

Mark Kelly: This is an interesting choice for Democrats. He

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very recently, winning his Senate seat from Arizona in 2020. He markets

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as one of his top issues, as well as

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following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. While I obviously disagree with his politics, I can’t deny that Kelly, a badass astronaut and family man, is a really cool dude. He served as a

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and then became an astronaut, flying missions to the International Space Station. He stayed with NASA for 15 years before retiring to care for his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who

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.

The Trump campaign should be afraid of Pennsylvania Gov. Shapirodata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro visit the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia on July 13, 2024.

Josh Shapiro is the only elite choice Democrats have, and he is almost too perfect of a choice.

Though he has only served as

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for a little over a year, he is a

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of an essentially

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state for Democrats. He ran his campaign for governor as a moderate, and his actions as governor have done nothing to refute that. He is seemingly as uncontroversial as anyone in this race.

Who will Harris pick for VP? Why Shapiro and Whitmer aren’t the answers.

One important consideration is his pro-******* stance, which some progressives will view as a betrayal of the campaign. However, more than 70% of

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, and 89% have a

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.

Not alienating this population is an important consideration for Democrats, and balancing Harris’

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on the matter is the right path forward for their party.

The biggest strength Shapiro has, besides his

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, is how he stacks up against Vance. The governor is smart and articulate and would fare well in a debate with the GOP vice presidential nominee. Shapiro also has far more experience in politics, allowing himself to contrast against Vance in a unique way.

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Frankly, I’m not sure why Shapiro would accept the position. A loss on this ticket would somewhat tarnish his political stock for 2028, an election in which he would have a fair chance at the Democratic nomination for president if he were to pursue it. However, if willing, he is the best choice that Democrats have now.

The Democratic Party really only has three choices, and each would pose his own unique challenges for Donald Trump. If I were the *********** presidential nominee, however, I would dread the pick of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and hope he chooses to save his chances for 2028.

Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:

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#Republicans #pay #attention #Harris #picks #scare

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