(L-R) Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. However, although Harris begins the shortened contest in the driver's seat, she is not guaranteed the nomination for president.
Here are some of the candidates who could be her running mate, all of whom have endorsed her.
Kamala Harris
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Seen as the frontrunner to replace Biden on the ticket is his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris, 59, will have a head start over several of the most discussed Democratic alternatives.
She's already been on a winning presidential ticket with Biden, has years of goodwill banked with core party constituencies and would likely control a huge campaign fund amassed by the Biden reelection.
Harris is the first woman to serve as vice president as well as the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve in the office. At the Republican convention, speakers frequently criticized not just Biden but Harris, warming up talking points for the person seen as the most likely to step into Biden's place.
Gretchen Whitmer
Her swift ascent over two decades — from law school graduate to Michigan’s governor — has established 52-year-old Gretchen Whitmer as a prominent figure within the Democratic Party. Her status was solidified in 2022 with a decisive reelection and the party’s success in flipping both chambers of the state legislature, granting Democrats full control in Michigan for the first time in nearly four decades.
She endorsed Harris on Monday, tweeting "Let's win this @KamalaHarris."
She famously sparred with former President Donald Trump over the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in her first term and Trump’s reference to Whitmer as "that woman from Michigan" during a White House news briefing raised her national profile. Whitmer blames the former president for fueling the political hatred that motivated a plot to kidnap and kill her that unfolded in 2020.
Whitmer said before in the weeks before Biden's announcement that she would not seek the nomination for president if he were to step aside, but did not endorse Harris in a post to X Sunday.
Gavin Newsom
Another governor near the top of the list is Gavin Newsom of California, who's expressed strong support for Biden, especially since the June 27 debate, hitting the campaign trail to stump for the president in Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Hampshire. At 56, the ambitious big-state governor offers credibility and excitement as one of the Democratic Party’s brightest rising stars with close ties to California’s powerful donor network. And he's long been expected to launch his own presidential bid, possibly as soon as 2028.
Newsom endorsed Harris for president on Sunday, saying his fellow Californian is "no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump's dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction."
Pete Buttigieg
Biden's 42-year-old transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg is another Democratic rising star who made a name for himself with his 2020 presidential primary campaign gaining widespread grassroots support. Upon suspending his campaign to, as he said at the time, "bring our party and country together," Buttigieg turned his support toward Biden, who praised "Mayor Pete" for his great campaign and later nominated him for transportation secretary. At 38, Buttigieg became the first openly gay Cabinet secretary in U.S. history and the youngest person ever to serve in the transportation secretary role.
Buttigieg endorsed Harris for president on X, saying he will do "all that I can to help elect" the vice president.
Josh Shapiro
The 51-year-old governor of Pennsylvania is another Democrat who quickly endorsed Harris, saying on X that the "contrast in this race could not be clearer."
The former corporate lawyer was elected governor in 2021, becoming the third Jewish governor to lead the state. Prior to that he'd served as the state's attorney general since 2017. As attorney general, Shapiro released the findings of a statewide grand jury report that revealed the abuse of children by priests and a coverup by Pennsylvania church leaders.
Since the recent assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally that left one rallygoer dead, two seriously hurt, Trump himself with an injury and scores of spectators traumatized, the governor has been thrust into a position of managing a situation no politician ever wants to confront. His rising to the moment has so far earned Shapiro praise from Republicans and Democrats alike, for his public presence and private communication.
Andy Beshear
Kentucky's 46-year-old governor Andy Beshear is another of the several Democratic governors viewed as a potential candidate to join the party’s presidential ticket.
Beshear endorsed Harris for president during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday.
His hard-fought victories over Trump-endorsed GOP opponents in the red-leaning state in both 2019 and 2023 raised his national profile. Beshear's ability to win in Republican territory has helped him burnish a reputation as a next-generation leader in the Democratic Party, and he's said his approach toward winning in GOP-friendly territory includes “stepping back from whatever the outrage of the day is in Washington, D.C.” and focusing on people’s everyday concerns. In recent months, he has traveled the country and made speeches before Democratic groups, including an appearance at a fundraiser and watch party in Los Angeles on the night of Biden’s debate stumble.
In an earlier statement on Sunday, Beshear thanked Biden for his service as president and for helping Kentuckians, but did not immediately back Harris.
J.B. Pritzker
J.B. Pritzker, a former businessman-turned-politician, was elected Illinois governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022.
Pritzker endorsed Harris on Monday in a statement that praised her skills and character.
"Vice President Harris has proven, at every point in her career, that she possesses the skills, strength, and character to lead this country and the vision to better the lives of all Americans," he says.
"She represents our Party’s best chance to defeat Donald Trump in November, and I will work my heart out to help her do that."
As for Trump, Pritzker called him "a man wholly unfit for the office of the presidency both in character and temperament."
Pritzker, with a net worth of more than $3 billion at the time of his first gubernatorial inauguration in 2019, became the one of the richest politicians in the United States. Pritzker has long defended abortion rights and held up Illinois as a beacon of reproductive freedom in the Midwest, welcoming women from red states. The billionaire governor launched a nonprofit committee that combats abortion restrictions and political extremism across the U.S., and he continues to invest his own funds into competitive races in states where abortion rights are threatened. Pritzker has also been vocal against book bans, a rollback of voting rights and erosion of trust in government institutions as the results of a more extreme Republican Party.
Pritzker released a statement touting Biden's accomplishments as president and stating he "work every day to ensure that he does not win in November," NBC Chicago reported.
Mark Kelly
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, who worked as a NASA astronaut and is the husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was was shot in the head in an assassination attempt in 2011, is seen as a possible running mate for Harris. Coming from the crucial sunbelt swing state, the retired U.S. Navy Captain is seen as a moderate who could boost ease some concerns that Harris is too progressive among some independent voters.
Kelly endorsed Harris for president in a statement Sunday.
Roy Cooper
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is another contender for Harris' running mate. The 65-year-old has worked in public service for nearly four decades and has served as the state's 75th governor since 2017. Previously, he served in the House and Senate, and as state attorney general for four terms. He has never lost an election.
His successful bids for governor in 2016 and 2020 stood out, especially as Trump won the state in both years and other Democratic candidates struggled to secure Senate seats. Cooper is known for expanding Medicaid, repealing the HB 2 "bathroom bill" and vetoing Republican bills on abortion, guns and immigration.
Cooper and Harris worked together while both served as their state's attorney general, and they have also made several joint campaign appearances this year. He endorsed her for president Sunday on X, saying that "she has what it takes to defeat Donald Trump."
North Carolina may become a battleground state once again, meaning that having Cooper on the ticket could help swing the state in the Democrats' favor.
