Harris says Buttigieg was her "first choice" for running mate

• She ultimately picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) after public and private lobbying from Democrats who believed he would help court rural and midwestern voters.

Driving the news: Buttigieg "would have been an ideal partner—if I were a straight white man," Harris wrote, according to the excerpt.

• "But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man," she continued. "Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let's just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk."
• She added that she believed Buttigieg agreed with her assessment — "to our mutual sadness."
• In the book due out next week, Harris gushed over the former secretary of transportation's "rare talent of being able to frame liberal arguments in a way that makes it possible for conservatives to hear them."

Context: Buttigieg — the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who rocketed to Democratic prominence with his 2020 presidential run — became the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history to be confirmed by the Senate.

What we're watching: He was considered a potential candidate for Michigan's gubernatorial or Senate races next year, but he declined to run.

• The 43-year-old father of two has signaled any decision on a 2028 presidential bid is a "long way off," but his prior run made his political ambitions clear.

Go deeper: Democrats eyeing 2028 court the "manosphere"