Who will pick Kamala Harris for VP? Shapiro and Kelly among the winners

Kamala Harris could reveal her choice of running mate within hours, after interviewing at least three of her shortlist on Sunday.

Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Mark Kelly and Governor Tim Walz held meetings with the presumptive Democratic nominee at his Washington home.

Other competitors are likely to hold talks around the weekend.

Ms Harris will be officially nominated at the top of the ticket later on Monday and will hold her first meeting with her vice president in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

He will face Republican Donald Trump in the November presidential election.

Here’s a look at the names believed to be in the running to be his partner, starting with three who were interviewed on Sunday.

The sympathetic and popular governor could help Ms. Harris capture Pennsylvania – a must-win for the Democrats.

The 51-year-old grabbed national headlines after working quickly to rebuild a collapsed bridge on a Philadelphia freeway last year.

He will be the first Jewish vice president if elected by Ms. Harris and the Democratic ticket wins.

Mr. Shapiro has voiced strong support for Israel in the war in Gaza and his criticism of student protests on school campuses in his state could cause a rift in the Democratic Party and a power struggle.

Vulnerability: Advocates of public education expressed the support of Mr. Shapiro singles out Pennsylvania’s private school vouchers – a Republican-backed proposal to send $100m to families for private school tuition and school supplies – as a potential weakness for Mr Shapiro.

In mid-July, a group of more than a dozen public school advocacy groups sent a letter to Ms. Harris urging her to nominate another student who is “completely committed to our nation’s public education system.”

The swing-state senator has an impressive resume that could appeal to voters on both sides of the aisle.

The former Navy pilot and NASA astronaut has spent more than 50 days in space on multiple missions.

But Mr Kelly, 60, is new to working in Washington. He was sworn into office in December 2020.

His wife is Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011 in Arizona while serving in the House of Representatives.

Ms. Giffords has become one of the leading advocates for gun safety laws, and the couple’s story may resonate with voters.

Mr Kelly’s tough stance on the border and occasional criticism of the Biden administration could help woo independent and conservative voters.

If elected, the party will have to fill its Senate vacancy in a critical situation.

Vulnerability: Mr Kelly has already received some criticism for his role in founding World View, a company specializing in high-end balloons.

The company received seed funding from China’s tech giant Tencent, although the company says it has “zero access, zero input and zero control” over it. Mr Kelly left the company in 2019, although he still has a financial stake in it due to a blind trust.

Mr. Walz is a battle-tested leader who served 12 years in Congress before becoming governor in 2018.

He has gained national attention for his strategy of calling Donald Trump and JD Vance “weird”.

The remark caught the attention of a number of Democrats – including Ms Harris. “He’s an unknown, a strange person,” Mr. Walz said of Trump during a fundraiser on Monday.

His outspoken persona and small-town Midwestern background can attract independent and motivated voters.

The 60-year-old led Minnesota in protests in 2020 over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

He assigned the National Guard unit to help put an end to the riots that broke out during the protests.

Mr. Walz served 20 years in the National Guard, taught high school and worked as an assistant football coach.

Vulnerability: Mr Walz’s political enemies have criticized his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 protests, and Minnesota GOP chairman David Hann recently told Fox he believed Mr Walz was “afraid of alienating his progressive base” with a strong response.

The Democratic governor has been close to Ms. Harris for a long time.

Mr. Beshear, 46, was able to do a successful job as a Democrat in the state Donald Trump won by 20 points in the last election. It’s an attractive feature that could please the Democratic ticket.

He has given numerous viral interviews criticizing Donald Trump’s choice for vice president, JD Vance, and his views on the region of Appalachia.

“He doesn’t belong here,” Mr Beshear said of the new member from Ohio, calling Mr Vance a fraud for his descriptions of the state and its citizens in his book, Hillbilly Elegy.

“This is someone who used to come to Kentucky for a few weeks in the summer and write a letter saying he knew us,” Mr. Beshear told the Des Moines Register.

“He called my people lazy, these are the coal miners who built this country.

Mr. Beshear often mentions his Christian faith and its influence on his personality and work. Supporting public education and protecting access to abortion are also important issues for him.

Vulnerability: In 2023, Mr Beshear drew the ire of some Kentucky Republicans with his vote for legislation banning transgender surgeries or drugs involving children. The state’s national assembly eventually overrode his veto and passed the law.

Campaigning for the White House will be nothing new for Mr Buttigieg.

As mayor of South Bend, Indiana, he was the surprise favorite of liberal voters in his unsuccessful first Democratic campaign.

Since then, he has served as the agency’s Secretary of Transportation and has been one of the White House’s top negotiators.

Her skills in debates and in front of crowds have been fully demonstrated in recent weeks as Ms. Harris fills the void of running mate.

On the television show Real Time with Bill Maher, he photographed Mr. Vance several times. Mr Buttigieg said he “knows” many people like Mr Vance, who “will say whatever they want” to get ahead.

Mr Buttigieg, 42, revealed Vance’s history of being highly critical of Trump and how he had changed his tune to “gain power”.

He also handled many public issues in his role as secretary, helping to oversee the response to the East Palestine train wreck in Ohio, the Baltimore Bridge collapse and the Southwest Airlines 2022 scheduling crisis.

Vulnerability: Some Republicans have criticized Mr. Buttigieg for his handling of his role as transportation secretary, saying he took too long to go to East Palestine and was ineffective in solving the problems facing the American airline industry.

The Conservatives again attacked Mr Buttigieg in 2021 for taking two months of parental leave during the supply chain crisis.