Philly to kick off Kamala Harris' battleground state tour with VP pick
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We'll have an answer next week whether Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro wins the veepstakes. Photo: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris will hold her first campaign rally with her running mate in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
The big picture: The location — and urgency from the campaign to secure donor checks in the coming days — has raised speculation about Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who's on top of Harris' short list of vice presidential picks.
Driving the news: Harris is expected to select her running mate soon.
- The Philly campaign rally will kick off a tour of seven battleground states next week, which includes stops in western Wisconsin, Detroit and Raleigh, North Carolina.
Meanwhile, Harris' campaign is pressing Wall Street donors to cut their checks as soon as possible, citing a financial rule that bars contributions to tickets featuring a sitting governor, according to people familiar with the matter.
Zoom in: The urgency of the requests has led some donors to conclude that Harris plans to pick a governor — and not a senator, like Mark Kelly of Arizona — to be her running mate.
- If the campaign signals are being correctly interpreted, that narrows the veepstakes down to Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
- Some donors in the financial services and investment industry think they have until Sunday to get their contributions in.
What they're saying: Harris insisted to reporters Tuesday that she has not chosen her vice president.
- "Any reporting on developments or updates in Vice President Harris' running mate search are premature and speculative," said a campaign spokesperson.
- As for Shapiro, he did not return a request for comment but said earlier this month: "This is a deeply personal decision that the vice president will make ... that decision should be made free of any sort of political pressure."
Zoom in: Shapiro is seen as a moderate Democrat who can appeal to independent voters and shore up support for Harris in a critical battleground state that Democrats narrowly carried in 2020.
- Plus: Philly Democrats and powerful union leaders are throwing their support behind him.
Reality check: Running mates have not helped their presidential campaigns win their home states in decades, per the New York Times.
- The last time was 1960, when Lyndon Johnson helped John F. Kennedy narrowly win Texas.
What to watch: Harris' pick would likely elevate a potential future Democratic presidential nominee.
- Some swing voters view Shapiro as Democrats' next rising star.