Speculation about Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of a running mate if she wins the Democratic nomination ramped up immediately after President Biden announced Sunday afternoon he would not seek reelection.
Ms. Harris, seen as the top contender to replace Mr. Biden, was quickly endorsed by the president. Pollsters already had been testing the names of high-profile Democrats who might join a Harris-led ticket.
A deluge of Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill quickly endorsed Ms. Harris to replace Mr. Biden atop the ticket.
“Kamala Harris for President. Let’s beat Donald Trump and make history,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, chair of the Progressive Caucus.
But there were still rumblings in the party about wanting an open process to select the next presidential nominee.
A ranked-choice poll conducted in early July, SurveyUSA/FairVote, showed support among Democrat and independent voters in six swing states split among a handful of Democrats.
Of 2,050 likely voters surveyed in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, 20% picked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 19% selected Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and 14% chose Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois each received 5% of the first-choice vote to be the running mate of Ms. Harris, while Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado and Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina picked up 3%,
Four percent of voters wanted Ms. Harris to run with someone else and 19% were unsure.
Between Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Whitmer, in a ranked-choice poll to be Ms. Harris’ running mate, Mr. Buttigieg defeats Ms. Whitmer 52% to 48%.
Many of these VP choices have also been cited as possible challengers to Ms. Harris at the Democratic convention in Chicago in August. However, the poll found that she was the clear favorite to replace Mr. Biden at the top of the ticket.
According to the poll, 37% ranked Ms. Harris as their first choice to replace Mr. Biden and 56% ranked her in their top three.
Other names from the Senate are being floated, too, including Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Democratic governors who are being eyed as potential running mates include Gavin Newsom of California, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.
Other potentials include Stacy Abrams, a former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor and Julián Castro, secretary of Housing and Urban Development under former President Barack Obama.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.