Harris campaign vetting at least 7 Dems for VP, including Whitmer, Cooper, Kelly, Shapiro

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. – Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign has requested vetting materials from at least seven Democrats under consideration to be her vice presidential running mate, USA TODAY has learned from a source familiar with the process.

Those being vetted for the job include North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The Harris campaign has also requested vetting materials from one Democrat whose name has received much less attention as a vice-presidential contender: Cedric Richmond, a former congressman from Louisiana who served as a top aide in the Biden White House and on his campaign.

"I would color that doubtful," Richmond told a New Orleans TV station.

Whitmer also tried to take herself out of the running on Monday, telling a local TV station on Monday that she's "not leaving Michigan."

Notably missing from the Harris vice president vetting list that was shared by the source are Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Both have been speculated as running mate possibilities for Harris, with Beshear telling MSNBC on Monday that he had spoken with the vice president since Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.

The source familiar with the Harris vice president vetting process told USA TODAY other Democrats not included in the group of seven being vetted could still emerge as contenders but are not currently on the Harris campaign's radar.

Sure enough, ABC News reported on Tuesday that Beshear is indeed among those who has been asked for vetting material.

Former Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder, who endorsed Harris this week, and Dana Remus with the law firm, Covington & Burling LLP, are leading the vetting process, according to the source familiar with the vetting effort.

Remus served as White House Counsel in the Biden administration, and led the vetting process for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson ahead of her mid-2022 Senate confirmation.

The Harris campaign declined to comment.

Fast-paced 'veepstakes' underscores tiny window

Harris is moving swiftly to build up a team that took shape after President Joe Biden's stunning departure from the 2024 campaign trail.

In less than 48 hours, she raked in more than the needed 1,976 delegates to become the party's presumptive presidential nominee ahead of the first round of voting at the August national convention in Chicago. Vice presidential candidates run separately, which means whoever Harris picks will receive a separate vote on the convention floor.

With roughly 100 days until the election, experts say the short timeframe means this group being vetted could be the only round of contenders.

"If we were in a normal situation, this would be a process that would play out over a couple of months," David Hopkins, a political science professor at Boston College, told USA TODAY.

"They don't really have that kind of time, because the convention is coming up in a few weeks," he added.

Critical choice to 'balance' ticket, contrast with Trump, Vance

All of the names being floated bring their own strengths and weaknesses, experts say, as they are auditioning to join the brand new Harris ticket. The choice will first center on who best complements Harris.

Hopkins said the vetting list suggests Harris' team is thinking about who would be best at helping the ticket appeal to a different segment of voters as it tries to cobble together a new coalition that can help them defeat Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November.

"When you have a someone from California who's a woman of color and has experience in Washington, then the obvious way to sort of balance it is to think about someone from a different part of the country, or from a battleground state," he said.

The other thing a Harris running mate could be used for is serving as an attack dog against Trump, particularly in contrast with his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, who has championed his upbringing in rural Ohio.

During an appearance Tuesday on "Morning Joe," for instance, Walz, the Minnesota governor, took direct swings at Vance, who is thought to be a lunch pail messenger to working class voters.

"What I know is people like JD Vance know nothing about small-town America," Walz said.

"He gets it all wrong, it's not about hate, it's not about collapsing in," he added. "The golden rule there is mind your own damn business. Their policies are what destroyed rural America. They've divided us. They're in our exam rooms. They're telling us what books to read."

Other rumored Harris contenders, such as Buttigieg and Beshear, launched similar attacks aimed at Vance earlier in the week.

Michael Traugott, an emeritus research professor of political studies at the University of Michigan, said Harris' entry resets the 2024 race and that this represents her first major test as the Democratic standard bearer. Her pick also will signal to voters much about the vice president's thinking on the White House campaign that has a little more than 100 days to go.

"It's a little hard to figure precisely because we're short on the polling of assessing the actual Democratic team against Trump and Vance," he said. "But it's still a very closely contested race, and most of the action takes place in the battleground states, so I would probably consider at the top of that list governors of battleground states."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harris campaign vetting VP list that includes Whitmer, Kelly, Cooper