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Associated Press

Democrats have unified with remarkable speed behind US Vice-President Kamala Harris as she has taken over the top of the party’s ticket heading into the November presidential election.
It may be another story when it comes to a running mate.
As Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly have emerged as among the potential finalists, both have face criticism from some organizations and activists who might otherwise be supportive of Democratic causes.
Harris’ team says she is interviewing six possible choices over the weekend before an announcement expected Monday. The next day, she and her running mate will appear together at a rally in Philadelphia, then visit six more swing states.
In addition to Shapiro and Kelly, Harris is said to be considering Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg
Some congressional Democrats have promoted Kelly, a former Navy pilot and astronaut whose state has more than 370 miles of border with Mexico. They said his selection could help defuse attacks by the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, who argues that the Biden administration’s immigration policies are too relaxed.

Shapiro has high-profile supporters too, including Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker. She caused a stir by posting a video on Friday depicting several Philadelphia-area officials and Democrats promoting Harris, but also playing up Shapiro as her running mate – appearing to suggest that the mayor had inside knowledge about Harris’ decision.
But a person with knowledge of the mayor’s thinking said the video was simply a case of Parker showing support for both Harris and the potential that Shapiro, Parker’s friend, would be the vice-presidential pick. The person was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Both Kelly and Shapiro have also seen their detractors become more vocal as Harris’ closes in on a decision.
While that may not ultimately sway Harris, it is an indication that the honeymoon period for the vice-president, where the distinct wings of the Democratic Party coalesced behind her, may be ending in the less than two weeks since President Joe Biden stepped down from his re-election bid and endorsed her.
Some labour groups have criticised Kelly for opposing proposed legislation they argue would boost union organising. Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, said that despite backing Harris for president, his 370,000-member union is not supporting Kelly as a potential running mate.
Fain also said the union does not favour Shapiro, who has previously proved willing to join with Republicans in calls to expand voucher programmes that allow public tax dollars to flow to private schools.
Fain did single out Beshear, Walz and Pritzker for praise.
“She’s probably got a thousand people telling her the same thing, you know, of what they think,” Fain said in an interview. “And so she’s got to make the decision based off of what she feels is, you know, is best for her.”
The non-profit Institute for Middle East Understanding said in a statement that Shapiro “is not the right candidate for the job, and selecting him would be a step in the wrong direction.”

Shapiro, who says he plans to be at Harris’ rally Tuesday in Philadelphia, has aggressively confronted what he views as antisemitism cropping up from pro-Palestinian demonstrations. He has professed solidarity with Israel in its drive to eliminate Hamas as it battles the militants in Gaza.
Shapiro called out universities for not acting quickly to tackle antisemitism and he became a prominent critic of the University of Pennsylvania’s president, Liz Magill. She resigned after testifying at a congressional hearing where she was unable to answer under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy.
Shapiro has also criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while suggesting that any end to the Israel-Gaza war requires the removal of Hamas from power.
The governor has been criticised by the Council on American-Islamic Relations for not condemning Israel for the killing of civilians in Gaza or for not calling for Israel to stop the fighting in the territory. Shapiro has countered that he has met with Muslim Americans and understands their pain.
The progressive activist organisation RootsAction.org opposes Shapiro’s views on Israel, school vouchers and the environment, among other issues. It says that in considering Shapiro, Harris “has set off alarm bells among young people, racial justice organisers, Arab Americans, Muslims and others whose votes and campaign activism were crucial to defeating Trump four years ago.”
Meanwhile, The Philadelphia Inquirer resurfaced an opinion article Shapiro wrote in 1993 as a 20-year-old college student at the University of Rochester where he said peace “will never come” to the Middle East and that Palestinians were “too battle-minded” to coexist with Israel.
Asked about it, Shapiro responded, “I was 20” adding that he long has supported a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“It is my hope that we can see a day where peace will reign in the Middle East,” he said.
Also opposing Shapiro are some environmental leaders and residents of the rural town of Dimock, Pennsylvania. They have drafted a letter to Harris urging her not to choose Shapiro and charging that the governor failed to keep his promises to clean up area groundwater contaminated by natural gas production via hydraulic fracturing.


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Harris closes in on naming a running mate, activists critique Shapiro and Kelly

US Vice-President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in Philadelphia on July 13. Harris has faced critique from key supporters of her party for her possible running mates’ records. Photo: Reuters

(L-R, top to bottom) US Vice-President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and the five contenders being considered as her running mate; Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Photo: AFP

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signs House Bill #897 at a ceremony at Cheyney University, an HBCU in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, on Friday. Shapiro has stood by his record on election issues like US support for Israel, pushing for a two-state solution and calling out universities for not tackling antisemitism quick enough. Photo: Reuters

Possible running mate for Kamala Harris attacked for promotional video in China

US Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona,   at the Capitol on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Potential Harris running mate Josh Shapiro opposes Nippon-US Steel merger

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in Ambler, Pennsylvania on Monday. Photo: Reuters

The United States Steel Mon Valley Works Clairton Plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania. Photo: AP

Could Kamala Harris as US president boost America’s ties to the Global South?

US Vice-President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

A view of destroyed buildings in Gaza on Thursday amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Photo: Reuters

Kishore Mahbubani of the National University of Singapore is a former diplomat who served as president of the United Nations Security Council from 2001 to 2002. Photo: Handout

Former US president Barack Obama speaking at American University in Washington in 2015. Photo: Bloomberg

US Vice-President Kamala Harris (left) looks on as Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo speaks during a press conference after their meeting in 2023. Photo: AFP

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, votes during a UN Security Council meeting in New York City on June 10, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Kamala Harris to hold Philadelphia rally with vice-president pick Tuesday

US Vice-President Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and US Vice-President Kamala Harris. Photo: The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Kamala Harris’ VP options: Astronaut? Governor? Cabinet member?

US-Vice President Kamala Harris in Houston, Texas on Thursday. Photo: AP 

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and US Vice-President Kamala Harris. Photo: TNS

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Photo: AFP

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and US Vice-President Kamala Harris. File photo: AFP

News

World

United States & Canada

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s record ‘has set off alarm bells’ among crucial Democratic voters


Democrats unified behind US Vice-President Kamala Harris after she took the top of the party’s ticket heading into the November election.
