Three governors and a U.S. senator are the top contenders to serve as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate if she's nominated to replace President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Harris scored a key endorsement from Biden when he announced he was dropping his reelection bid Sunday following weeks of pressure prompted by his dismal June 27 debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
All of the country's Democratic governors have since endorsed Harris, as has a majority of Democratic members of Congress, according to a tally by the New York Times.
The latter group includes Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the influential former two-time House speaker, who on Monday said she had "full confidence" that Harris "will lead us to victory in November."
Here's a look at Harris' potential running mates:
Andy Beshear
The Kentucky governor, 46, is a former state attorney general who unseated Trump-backed Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in 2019 and won reelection last year by beating then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron, whom Trump also endorsed.
The son of former two-term Gov. Steve Beshear has presided over record economic growth in the heavily Republican Bluegrass State and has urged Democrats to emulate his electoral success by focusing on Americans' everyday concerns, including jobs, education and health care, AP said.
Roy Cooper
The outgoing, two-term North Carolina governor, 67, has strong job-approval ratings and scored six statewide victories even though Republicans control the legislature in the swing state.
Cooper formerly served as the state attorney general and made headlines in 2007 for dismissing rape charges against three Duke University lacrosse players following a 12-week investigation that he said revealed a "tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations."
Mark Kelly
The Arizona senator, 60, is a former Navy combat pilot and NASA astronaut who scored more votes than any other Democrat on the ballot during his two Senate campaigns in the swing state, including by outpolling Biden by 2 points in 2020.
Kelly is married to former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived being shot in the head while meeting with constituents in Tucson in 2011, and the two of them later founded the Giffords gun-control advocacy group.
Josh Shapiro
The Pennsylvania governor, 51, is a former state legislator who won two terms as attorney general in the swing state before trouncing a Trump-backed rival for the open governor's seat in 2022.
Although Shapiro won his statewide races with tightly scripted, disciplined campaigns, he's since loosened up and become more plain-spoken, saying recently on MSNBC that Trump should "quit whining and stop "s--- talking America," according to AP.
