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Josh Shapiro
Governor - Pennsylvania
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Mark Kelly
U.S. Senator - Arizona
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Andy Beshear
Governor - Kentucky
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Tim Walz
Governor - Minnesota
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Roy Cooper
Governor - North Carolina
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J.B. Pritzker
Governor - Illinois
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Gretchen Whitmer
Governor - Michigan
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Pete Buttigieg
Transportation Secretary
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Michelle Lujan Grisham
Governor - New Mexico
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Joe Manchin
U.S. Senator - West Virginia
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Three white men who are 52.3 years old on average are the frontrunners for the role of Kamala Harris running mate in the competition for vice-president based on the Capitol Inside rankings for the second slot on the Democratic ticket this fall.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shaprio, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear would all give the Democrats a VP nominee who's middle-aged with considerably more experience in government and politics than Trump number two JD Vance.
Trump appeared to tap Vance because he was the youngest candidate on the former president's short list VP. As a nominee who turns 40 next week, Vance would presumably give the GOP ticket a balance of fresh blood and the party's most celebrated retread with the 78-year-old former president at the top for the third time in a row.
But Vance is a political novice who's been a U.S. senator for less than two years as the only elected office that he's ever held. Shapiro and Beshear - in sharp contrast - both served as the attorney general in their respective states before winning current posts. Harris was the state AG in California for six years before a four-year U.S. Senate stint.
Shapiro ranks first among the VP possibilities for Democrats as the governor of a swing state that Harris has to carry to win in November. But Kelly is a close second as a former astronaut who served 15 years in the U.S. Navy as a combat veteran in Iraq. Kelly's history in the military would make Vance's four years in the U.S. Marines a wash at best.
Kelly is married to Gabby Giffords, a former Arizona congressional member who survived an assassination attempt.
Democrats would expect any one in the group with Shapiro, Kelly and Beshear to make Vance look like a lightweight if he agrees to roll the dice on a debate with his yet-to-be specified counterpart for the Democrats. Republicans could hope that Vance's law degree from Yale would give him the smarts to hold his on a stage with a Democratic adversary who's accomplished substantially more in the governing arena.
Governors Tim Walz of Minnesota, Roy Cooper of North Dakota and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois are out the top six in the VP rankings for the Democrats. While all three may be long shots, Walz could be in the running as the leader of another swing state that's a must for the Democrats. Walz serves as chairman of the rules committee for the Democratic National Convention next month.
It's no coincidence that the six highest-ranked VP possibilities for the Democrats are all white males. That could be a prerequisite for Harris and the Democrats in light of the fact that she's a Black woman.
Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer, who's also white, would have been one of Harris' closest competitors for the White House nomination if Biden had announcement plans to step down before the primary elections or in their early stages. With time in short supply and none left to waste, Harris was the natural choice for a consensus contender for Democrats to rally around immediately.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is ranked ninth as the only other woman on the vice-president rankings for Democrats.
The ticket will be sealed at the DNC in Chicago in August.
With Harris and Shapiro ages 59 and 51 respectively, a ticket with the Quaker State Democrat would be 55 years old on average. At the age of 46, Beshear would give the Democrats a ticket with an average age of 52.5. The GOP ticket - thanks to the relatively green VP nominee - has an average age of 59.
After claiming Biden's aging made him too old to serve at 81, the Republicans have caused to be highly concerned that Democrats will do everything in their power to make Trump's age the dominant issue in the general election. Trump gave them ample material to do so in a rambling speech to the Republican National Convention last week.
more to come ...
