Harris nears her big V-P reveal after fierce lobbying from Democrats

WASHINGTON – Vice-President Kamala Harris is expected to reveal her running mate on the morning of Aug 6, a decision that will end a 16-day sprint to vet, interview and choose a person who could potentially become the future leader of the Democratic Party.

Ms Harris’ announcement, coupled with a major rally she plans to hold with her running mate on the evening of Aug 6 in Philadelphia, will also cap a frenzied period that had, in recent days, exposed some of the party’s internal fissures on matters ranging from labour rights to Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

With only days to consider a range of contenders, Ms Harris and her team were inundated with unsolicited advice – much of it public –

about whom she should pick.

In the final hours, her allies, fellow Democrats, progressive activists and even some of the potential nominees themselves tried to find ways to sway her decision.

At the centre of the maelstrom is Ms Harris, who has fielded input from a small group of formal and informal advisers, including former president Barack Obama, whom she has consulted on policy, personnel decisions and her vice-presidential pick during her whirlwind ascent to the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a person familiar with their conversations.

Some of the candidates even tried to cozy up to influential friends of Ms Harris’, hoping that it might make their way back to the Vice-President – or at least to one of the people in the tight group of confidants advising her.

Two presumed favourites, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and Minnesota governor Tim Walz, have been checking in with Democratic members of Congress by phone in recent days.

Ms Donna Brazile, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, said she had recently fielded calls from more than one of Ms Harris’ potential running mates.

“Someone called and said, ‘If you’re asked, will you please make sure you put in a good word for me?’” Ms Brazile said. She declined to say who had called her, adding: “They’re all my friends.”

The chaotic selection of a vice-presidential candidate happens every campaign season, but the compressed timeline for Ms Harris has prompted a flood of last-minute attempts to either lift the chances of the front-runners or stop their upward trajectories.

The stakes are high because of the relatively short vetting timeline and the still-in-flux nature of a campaign that had to turn itself into a Harris-centric operation overnight.

This is one of the most consequential decisions of Ms Harris’ political career. She has been a state attorney-general, a senator and a vice-president. But now her party’s future is in her hands, and powerful Democrats have made their preferences known.

Mr Obama, who has established himself as a sounding board

for Ms Harris in recent weeks, knows Mr Shapiro well, although the person familiar with his communications with Ms Harris said Mr Obama had not pushed for one candidate over another.

Speculation has also surrounded the preferences of Representative Nancy Pelosi, who is representing the Democrats in California.

The influential former House Speaker, with some other Democratic members of Congress, has come out in support for Mr Walz, a former member of the House. An adviser to Mrs Pelosi asserted that the congresswoman believed that the whole field of candidates, which also includes Senator Mark Kelly, who is representing the party in Arizona, “is great”.

“I think Nancy has a favourable bias for current and former colleagues in the House, and that’s very understandable,” Representative Gerry Connolly, who is representing the party in Virginia, said of Mrs Pelosi.

“But ultimately there’s got to be a certain compatibility between Kamala and whoever she picks. Endorsing people has a value in demonstrating support, but at the end of the day, it’s got to be her instinctive decision as well.”

The leading contenders stayed mostly out of the public eye on Aug 5. Mr Shapiro was seen playing basketball in his driveway with one of his sons while his dogs sat nearby. Mr Walz appeared at a fund-raiser for Ms Harris in Minneapolis; Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, who has also been vetted by the Harris team, appeared at a Harris campaign fund-raiser in Chicago.

Ms Harris understands that there is a performative aspect to the vice-presidential sweepstakes, three people familiar with her decision-making process said, but believes that all of it will mean less to her, in the end, than finding chemistry with a running mate, and trusting this person to help her win and govern.

The three people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, say that Ms Harris wants to pick someone with whom she could quickly build a close and loyalty-driven relationship – something that did not happen immediately with President Joe Biden.

The Vice-President is well aware of the efforts within her party to influence the outcome of a decision that is ultimately hers to make. Ms Harris spent the weekend in Washington interviewing a short list of candidates and consulting with the small group of people who are helping her decide.

Mr Shapiro, one top option, has faced sharp opposition from progressive groups. Mr Walz, whose folksy sense of humour has made him a social media darling, is getting a long second look from some influential Democrats. And Mr Kelly is being promoted as a top fund-raiser who won two difficult races in a key battleground state.

The group of people who have been closest to Ms Harris as she nears her announcement includes Ms Jen O’Malley Dillon, Ms Harris’ campaign chair; Ms Sheila Nix, the Vice-President’s campaign chief of staff; Ms Lorraine Voles, her chief of staff in the vice-president’s office; Mr Tony West, her brother-in-law; and Mr Cedric Richmond, a co-chair of the campaign. Former attorney-general Eric Holder, whose law firm managed the rapid vetting process, and Ms Dana Remus, a former White House counsel for Biden and an outside legal counsel for the Harris campaign, have also been included in the discussions.

Ms Harris’ style in these discussions – as it is in most professional settings, people who know her have noted – has been to pepper her advisers with questions, rethink the answers and then run through the questions again.

Mr Obama has also been in contact with Ms Harris in recent days, according to the person familiar with their communications. Mr Obama and Ms Harris have known each other since she became an early supporter of his 2008 presidential campaign. But over the past month, calls between them have ramped up significantly.

Mr Biden was at home in Wilmington, Delaware, over the weekend while Ms Harris interviewed prospective running mates in Washington. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether he had spoken to Ms Harris as she finished her deliberations.

Once she chooses, Ms Harris will spend much of the next week with her running mate. In San Francisco, Democratic donors received word that she would return to the area to headline a fund-raising event in the city on the morning of Aug 11, according to three people briefed on the plan. NYTIMES