Here’s what Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona is saying about running mate speculation
Jul 31, 2024, 9:05 AM
PHOENIX – When Kamala Harris takes her presidential campaign on a tour of battleground states next week, including an Arizona stop, will Sen. Mark Kelly be along for the ride as her running mate?
Kelly wouldn’t tip his hand Wednesday morning during his first major interview since President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and passed the baton to his vice president.
“Next week, my plans right now are to be in Arizona. Arizona is important, not only for who’s going to be in the White House, but also who’s going to keep control of the United States Senate. We’ve got some really important elections in Arizona,” Kelly told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
When will Kamala Harris name her running mate?
Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, reportedly is planning to hold her first rally with her yet-to-be-named running mate on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
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While Harris has Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on her shortlist of vice presidential options, the location of her running mate’s debut doesn’t necessarily mean Shapiro will be the pick. The fact that Pennsylvania is worth 19 electoral college votes, the most among this election’s battleground states, is reason enough to make a splash there.
In addition to Shapiro and Kelly, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are reportedly in the running for the vice presidential slot.
All the dates of next week’s swing state rallies have yet to be released, but Harris’ camp said the Arizona stop will be somewhere in Phoenix. Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada are also on the itinerary.
Why is Kelly considered a strong vice presidential possibility?
Like Shapiro, Kelly would bring battleground state credentials to the contest, although Arizona has eight fewer electoral votes than Pennsylvania.
Stan Barnes, a Valley political expert, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News last week that Kelly could bring “a perfect balance” to the Democratic ticket.
The founder and president of Phoenix-based Copper State Consulting Group said he expects Republican nominee Donald Trump and his supporters to paint Harris as a liberal extremist, a charge Kelly could mitigate.
“Mark Kelly is the opposite of that,” Barnes said. “He is an accomplished superstar in his personal life and is temperate in tone, in policy.”
VP or not, Kelly vows to work to defeat Donald Trump
Regardless of whether he is on the ticket, Kelly vowed to be involved in the effort to defeat Trump.
“I’m going to be traveling across the country tirelessly,” he said Wednesday morning.
When an MSNBC interviewer asked him about his communications with the Harris campaign, Kelly declined to divulge details.
“I’m not going to get into any of that,” he said. “I am going to be focused on making sure that Kamala is the next president.”
