Who will Harris pick for vice president? Why Shapiro and Whitmer aren't the answers.

Joe Biden is out. Kamala Harris is almost certainly in. The question now is: Who will the likely Democratic presidential nominee pick as her vice president?

The answer: She doesn’t have many good options. That matters more than usual, because Harris is already a deeply unpopular candidate who needs the help of a solid running mate. But such a running mate doesn’t seem to exist.

I have a front-row seat to the conundrum Harris faces. I run an organization in one of the most important swing states in America ? Pennsylvania. Our governor, Josh Shapiro, is already being hailed as a strong choice to round out the ticket. He’s billed as a moderate who will reach across the aisle and protect Democrats’ “blue wall” in the Rust Belt.

In reality, Shapiro is perhaps the best proof that the best the left has to offer is pretty bad.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro isn't getting stuff done

That fact was crystallized when Shapiro signed his second state budget this month. For the second year running, he failed to keep his signature promise to enact scholarships for low-income students trapped in failing schools. That promise was supposed to separate him from the Democratic pack, showing his moderate credentials and ability to lead. It also is a winner with Black families, 87% of whom support these scholarships.

Instead, Shapiro let down the voters whom Harris and Democrats arguably need most. And the governor has shown next to no ability to get anything done, unable to work even with his fellow Democrats in the legislature.

This isn’t a Pennsylvania problem. It’s a Shapiro problem. He’s among 10 governors who face a legislature controlled at least in part by the other party, and the other nine have all signed more laws than he has since January 2023, according to a Commonwealth Foundation analysis.

Tellingly, my organization found that 54% of Pennsylvanians either don’t think or don’t know whether Shapiro has delivered major accomplishments.

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Such a do-nothing record is perfect for a vice president ? that job is designed to do nothing. But it will not convince voters in the lead-up to November. They want a leader who’s achieved more.

So do donors. George Soros, Mike Bloomberg, Steven Spielberg ? they backed Shapiro in the hopes he’d fulfill his own promise to “get s--t done.” But the governor hasn’t, and national voters and donors will find that out if Harris puts her trust in him.

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Where would Harris turn if not to Shapiro? Does anyone in the Democratic Party have a strong record of leadership and results?

Not really. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is the second least-productive governor in a divided state, according to our research. Then there’s Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who’s not living up to promises and doesn’t have even a veneer of moderation. Neither governor seems likely to inspire a groundswell of new voters to turn out for Harris.

Gavin Newsom has enough problems in California

Finally, there’s California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Even if there weren’t constitutional questions of whether two Californians can run on the same ticket, he wouldn’t be a strong choice.

Newsom is increasingly unpopular at home, perhaps because he’s overseen an era of soaring homelessness, plummeting affordability of housing and other necessities, and vanity projects that have nothing to do with governing.

The lack of options leaves Harris in the lurch. She’s barely polling better than Biden.

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She’s widely renowned ? or should I say ridiculed ? for responding to serious matters with word salads. No one can point to things she’s accomplished, and the issues she’s overseen ? like the border crisis ? are utter disasters.

She needs a strong running mate to make up for these flaws, but all her choices are deeply flawed themselves.

So, who will Kamala Harris pick as vice president? Whatever the answer, voters may ask a different question altogether: Is that really the best Democrats can do?

Charles Mitchell is president and CEO at the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will Harris choose for VP? Why Josh Shapiro is not the best option