As Kamala Harris inches closer to choosing a VP, Andy Beshear buzz builds in Kentucky
In newly minted presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ ongoing search for a running mate, we know one thing today: She’ll campaign with her vice presidential nominee in Philadelphia Tuesday.
And here’s what we still don’t know: Who will it be?
All indications point to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear still being in the mix, though he and his team have remained quiet on the matter.
Beshear’s schedule was noticeably blank Wednesday. That’s significant because it’s rare that the 46-year-old governor is not out-and-about in the commonwealth at public events.
Eric Hyers, Beshear’s top political consultant, confirmed that Beshear’s schedule was clear Wednesday. Crystal Staley, the governor’s official spokesperson, told the Herald-Leader Beshear had no scheduled public events Wednesday and Thursday before the governor will headline an event for the Oklahoma Democratic Party tonight.
This is happening on the same week that, according to numerous media outlets, the Harris team is conducting formal interviews.
Beshear underwent his own miniature social media news cycle Tuesday.
A California political commentator on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, posted that an unidentified source told him Beshear was receiving extra security. The post was viewed around 3 million times.
Shortly thereafter, Beshear’s odds skyrocketed from a relatively distant fourth-place to number one on PredictIt, a New Zealand-based betting market popular among political observers. A couple hours later, he was back down to third-favorite behind Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Late Wednesday night, Shapiro was the clear favorite on the betting site.
What are other media sites reporting?
If you’ve missed it, numerous mainstream outlets and digital sites have been buzzing about who Harris might choose:
CBS News reported Tuesday that “formal interviews” of top tier VP candidates, including Beshear, Shapiro, Walz, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, were happening.
Axios reported the Harris’ campaign was telling Wall Street donors to expedite their donations, leading many to conclude her pick is a sitting governor, given that the Securities and Exchange Commission has a strict rule for certain financial services employees regulating donations to campaigns for state office.
- Writers at a wide range of outlets have made their case for Beshear, including the Kentucky Kernel and an opinion piece in Slate.
Speculation around Harris potentially selecting Shapiro rose sharply when it was announced Tuesday her first campaign stop during a tour of swing states next week would be in Philadelphia, the most populous city in the Keystone State.
On CNN late Wednesday night, Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, said he was a “huge Andy Beshear fan” and favored him as a VP candidate, closely followed by Walz.
‘The Beshear Effect’
Regardless of the national media’s reaction, Kentucky Democratic circles are abuzz.
Such was the case Tuesday night, when Gov. Andy Beshear visited two fundraisers for state representative candidates in Louisville – Colleen Davis and Kate Farrow, both of whom are running against Republican incumbents in politically “purple” districts.
Democratic strategist Will Carle is involved with both campaigns.
“I’ll tell you, the Beshear Effect is real. The first event, we had 60 RSVPs, so I was like. ‘that’ll be great.’ Then we had 220 people show up. We literally ran out of everything in 40 minutes. For the second event, we had 50 RSVPs and there were 131 people there.
“A lot of people are really excited.”
Carle said that down-ballot candidates are particularly hopeful they could benefit from a potential “Beshear bump” if he’s on the Harris ticket.
How Kentucky voters may react to one of their own at the top of the ballot is a relatively untested theory. No major party has featured a Kentuckian on the ticket since Alben Barkley won as Harry Truman’s vice presidential nominee in 1948.
Carle predicted less-engaged Kentucky Democrats would show up to the polls for their governor, and “to be a part of something bigger.” He also said that volunteer and party operative excitement would likely shoot up.
“I think it’s a sense of immense pride. A lot of these folks worked really hard for the governor in ‘19 and ‘23. They donated time, talent and treasure. They see themselves in him. They see what’s possible, and I think that that’s where a lot of the energy is coming from.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 6:20 AM.
