As Vice President Kamala Harris solidifies her place among the Democratic Party and becomes a potential 2024 presidential candidate, an important question is swirling in the political discourse: Who will be her running mate?

There is widespread agreement that Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, will pick a straight, white man — a strategic move in a country that has never elected a woman, let alone a woman of color, to lead it.

Among the elected officials in contention are reportedly Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.

Some have suggested Harris might choose California Governor Gavin Newsom as her No. 2, but the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits vice presidential candidates from living in the same state, and images of the two leaders who built their political careers in San Francisco would provide endless fodder for conservatives who have long used the city as a byword for dysfunction and disastrous liberal policies.

Ms. Harris has a short time to choose a nominee — the Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago in less than four weeks — and her selection strategy also differs from traditional presidential campaigns, in which candidates often choose a running mate to fill in weaknesses in their own records.

In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama, a relatively inexperienced senator from Illinois, picked veteran Delaware senator Joe Biden for his foreign policy skills. In the same race, then-Arizona senator John McCain picked Alaska governor Sarah Palin in an effort to appeal to women and fringe Republicans and to field a younger politician.

But President Biden's announcement on Sunday that he would not seek reelection ignored historic electoral norms and created an unprecedented moment in American politics.

“Sometimes people think of these elections as a way to unify the party and its factions,” said Thad Koussar, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego. “I don't think the party has factions. [Democratic] “The party right now is anything other than the faction that's trying to defeat Donald Trump. I think the choice comes down to electability.”

Each of the players named as top candidates has potential strengths, but also weaknesses.

Mr. Shapiro, the presumptive front-runner, is governor of a state that is crucial to Democrats' chances of winning the White House. Though he has been Pennsylvania's top executive for less than two years, the 51-year-old has earned a reputation as a skilled orator and politician who seeks bipartisan consensus.

Shapiro told reporters on Tuesday. You are not required to submit any screening documents To the Harris camp.

“The vice president should make that decision free from any political pressure,” the Philadelphia CBS affiliate reported. “It's her decision. She'll make it on a schedule of her own choosing.”

Some political observers have questioned whether Shapiro, who is Jewish, could hurt Harris' chances of winning in the key battleground state of Michigan, which has a sizable number of Muslim American voters, as well as among progressive voters critical of the Democratic Party's approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Shapiro is a strong supporter of Israel but has been critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership even before Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Some have argued that voters concerned about her views on the war are less likely to vote for her because Ms. Harris' husband, Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.

Kelly, a former astronaut and husband of Gabby Giffords, the congresswoman who was seriously injured in an assassination attempt in 2011, is also seen as a leading candidate to be Harris' running mate. Arizona, once a Republican-dominated state, was a battleground state that backed Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016, though Biden narrowly beat Trump in 2020.

The day after Biden and Trump's disastrous June debate, which led to calls to block the president's reelection, Harris appeared alongside Kelly in Las Vegas, Nevada, a battleground state, to praise his service to the country.

Kelly noted similarities among western states, particularly their Latino populations.

Nevada and Arizona “are going to play a huge role in determining the direction of this country,” Kelly said. According to the Arizona Republic“And that's why I'm here, because Nevada, Arizona and our country face a choice: continue the progress we're making or move backwards.”

Kelly also faces obstacles, including Democratic concerns about holding onto a Senate seat in a state that appears to be increasingly moving to the right as congressional votes remain close.

Additionally, labor leaders, who have largely supported Harris, are wary of Kelly's lack of support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a federal law that would expand unions' ability to organize and bargain collectively and weaken state “right to work” laws to empower workers. On Wednesday, Kelly told The Huffington Post: Support the bill.

North Carolina's Cooper and Kentucky's Beshear are not governors likely to support Harris in November, but they are both governors who have demonstrated an ability to win over conservative voters. A pick for Harris could be seen as an effort to appeal to moderate voters who could play a key role in battleground states in November.

Harris is a close friend of Cooper's from their days as attorneys general in their respective states, and the former Sunday school teacher has won multiple state elections in North Carolina, which is considered a Republican state.

Cooper declined to answer a question about whether he would seek to be Harris' running mate.

“I appreciate people talking about me,” he said Monday on MSNBC, “but I think the focus should be on now. [Harris] this week.”

Beshear has also proven his ability to appeal to Republican voters, and his criticism of Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, an Appalachian native who has touted his family ties to Kentucky, has been scathing.

“He's not from here.” Gov. Beshear told The Associated Press this week.

Vance's political career was founded on the best-selling 2016 book “Hillbilly Elegy.” While some argue the book captures the struggles of rural America, others argue it is based on stereotypical tropes that ignore the historical exploitation of the Appalachian Mountains.

“You can't come to Eastern Kentucky a couple times a summer, maybe for a wedding and a funeral, and then criticize us,” Gov. Beshear said Monday. “That's offensive.”

When asked if he would like to be Harris' running mate, the Kentucky governor did not answer directly, but said he plans to serve the remainder of his term.

“The only way that won't happen is if I have an opportunity to help Kentuckians in a different way and add value,” he said.

The names are among about a dozen candidates being considered. CBS News Report Others under scrutiny are Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, along with Biden Cabinet members Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, according to the report.

Some liberal strategists have urged Harris to be bold and abandon conventional wisdom that says it's politically unwise to pick a woman, a person of color or someone from the LGBTQ+ community.

“It's time to think outside the box that has defined what makes a presidential candidate successful. Traditional, straight, Christian, white male as the epitome of American leadership can no longer be the default,” Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown said in a statement.

“Straight white men could never have saved this country on their own. While they have been the face of political leadership for decades, America has not moved forward without the inspiration, drive and creative leadership of diverse Americans, especially women and communities of color,” Brown said. “Our candidates should reflect this truth.”