Vice President Kamala Harris will hold her first rally with her new vice presidential nominee on Tuesday Aug. 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, launching a four day battleground tour that includes Michigan and Arizona, the campaign said.
The location of the first stop suggests Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has moved to the top of a short list of running mates, and that the Harris campaign had decided the state that Democrats won back from Republicans in 2020 is a must-win once again.
After Philadelphia, Harris and her vice presidential pick will travel to six other locations including western Wisconsin, Detroit and Las Vegas, the campaign said in a statement late Tuesday night, adding a “strong reminder” that Harris has “made no decision on a running mate.”
The high-stakes decision on who will run with Harris has taken center stage since she became the Democratic frontrunner for the Nov. 5 election when U.S. President Joe Biden ended his White House bid just over a week ago.
Harris is expected to announce the decision as soon as Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s event, the sources said.
The short list of candidates under consideration include Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
If Shapiro is the pick, the Harris campaign is likely counting on the popular, 51-year-old governor to help win the state in November.
Shapiro’s stock among Democrats rose after he swamped his Republican opponent for governor, Doug Mastriano, winning over 56 percent of the vote in a state known for tight elections.
Shapiro would also become the second Jewish nominee for vice president on a major ticket in U.S. history, following Joe Lieberman’s failed 2000 bid with Al Gore.
A handful of U.S. states, often called battlegrounds, have decided the presidential election in recent years, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.