Vice President Kamala Harris is in the process of choosing her running mate for the November election as recent interviews with delegates to the Democratic National Convention show one potential candidate leading the pack.
The New York Times interviewed 251 delegates who will be voting in the Democratic Party‘s presidential nominating process and found that Governor Josh Shapiro enjoyed a slim lead.
Shapiro is the governor of a crucial swing state and is one of several possible vice presidential picks who has reportedly been asked for vetting materials by the Harris campaign, according a recent report from The Wall Street Journal.
However, the sample of 251 delegates is relatively small compared to the more than 3,000 delegates heading to the convention. Vice President Harris has already secured the support of the 1,976 delegates she needs to win the party’s nomination.
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The New York Times found that 40 of the 250 delegates interviewed favored Shapiro, while 28 said they wanted Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona—who has also reportedly been asked for vetting materials.
Newsweek has reached out to the Harris campaign via email outside of business hours for comment.
A further 23 delegates cited Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who had not been asked for vetting materials by the Harris campaign as of Monday. However, he is reportedly being considered.
Governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Roy Cooper of North Carolina were tied for fourth place, with 13 delegates each favoring them for the vice presidential nomination.
The Harris campaign has asked both Whitmer and Cooper for vetting materials, according to The Wall Street Journal.
However, 70 of the delegates surveyed said they were undecided about who should get the vice presidential nomination. Those delegates either refused to answer the question or responded “don’t know.”
The choice will ultimately fall to Harris but Shapiro could be an asset to her campaign in Pennsylvania. The state was crucial to President Joe Biden‘s 2020 victory and to former President Donald Trump‘s 2016 win.
Trump formally accepted the Republican Party’s nomination at their convention last week. His running mate is Senator JD Vance of Ohio.
The delegates interviewed by The New York Times showed general satisfaction with Harris, with 78 percent saying they were very satisfied with her as the nominee and 11 percent saying they were somewhat satisfied. Just one percent expressed dissatisfaction and 10 percent responded “don’t know.”
Only 20 percent of respondents said that Harris should face a competition for the Democratic nomination, while 60 percent of delegates surveyed said the party should move ahead with the vice president. A further 19 percent didn’t know.
Harris delivered her first major campaign speech in the battleground state of Wisconsin on Monday and took aim at former President Trump.
“I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” Harris said. “Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain.”
“So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type,” the vice president went on. “In this campaign, I promise you, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week.”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.